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Q3 2015 operations and production update – Gedabek gold, copper and silver mine, Azerbaijan
Anglo Asian Mining, the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, has provided an operations and production update from its Gedabek gold, copper and silver mine in western Azerbaijan for the three months to 30 September 2015.
Production overview
· Gold production for Q3 2015 remained on track with 18,165 ounces produced, of which 11,795 ounces was from the agitation leach plant, 6,363 ounces from heap leach operations and 7 ounces from SART processing (Q2 2015: total 18,745 ounces)
· Copper production for Q3 2015 totalled 216 tonnes from SART processing (Q2 2015: 236 tonnes)
· Silver production for Q3 2015 totalled 4,439 ounces with 588 ounces from the agitation leach plant, 319 ounces from heap leach operations and 3,532 ounces from SART processing (Q2 2015: total 4,527 ounces)
· Cumulative production in the nine months to 30 September 2015 was as follows:
o Gold – 54,103 ounces (25 per cent. higher than the same period of the previous year)
o Silver – 10,916 ounces
o Copper – 634 tonnes
· On target to achieve between 70,000 to 75,000 ounces of gold for the year to 31 December 2015 (“FY 2015”) which represents an increase of approximately 16 to 24 per cent. compared to the FY 2014 production of 60,285 ounces of gold
Operational update
· Small scale flotation plant (the fourth processing line to be added at Gedabek) has been commissioned and is now in production
· 6,944 tonnes of ore with average gold content of 8.69 grammes per tonne from the Gadir underground mine was processed by the agitation leach plant in Q3 2015
Sales
· Q3 2015 gold sales of 14,871 ounces at an average of $1,123 per ounce – Cumulative Q3 2015 gold sales of 48,165 ounces at an average of $1,179 per ounce
· Q3 2015 copper concentrate shipments to the customer totalled 460 dry metric tonnes (“dmt”), containing 246 tonnes of copper – sales of copper concentrate were $0.9 million
Company financials
· Net debt, being interest-bearing loans and borrowings less cash and cash equivalents, totals $51.0 million at 30 September 2015 ($48.9 million at 30 June 2015) following completion of the flotation plant
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented, “We are pleased to report continuation of the exceptional gold, copper and silver production from Gedabek, as seen in our H1 2015 results. The final quarter of the year has historically been our best performing quarter and we are confident of meeting our original production target for 2015 of between 70,000 and 75,000 ounces of gold.
“I am also delighted to report that our small scale flotation plant has now been successfully commissioned. It is now processing the tailings of the agitation leach plant with the objective of increasing Gedabek’s gold, copper and silver production profile.
“Our production target for 2015 represents a significant increase compared to the FY 2014 production and as such we expect our total sales for the year to increase. In tandem with increasing our production and sales, we have been continually working to lower our production costs which at H1 2015 were $736 per ounce of gold. I look forward to providing further updates in due course as we continue to improve our production performance in order to deliver the utmost value for shareholders.”
