BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 22. AzerGold has presented 4 major strategic projects to be implemented under the State Program, with total investment expected to amount to approximately 3.63 billion manat ($2.1 billion), Chairman of the Board of AzerGold CJSC Zakir Ibrahimov said at the meeting chaired by President Ilham Aliyev, dedicated to the draft State Program for the development of the mining and metallurgical industry.
According to him, only around 10% of the investment is planned to be financed from the state budget. He added that the first project is the Soyugbulag gold deposit.
“The first production is scheduled for 2028. The gold resource of the project is 1.03 million ounces of gold, and exploration is ongoing, so there is a possibility that this figure may increase. Its economic value is 7.5 billion manat ($4.4 billion) at today's gold price, while the required investment is 425 million manat ($249 million). The project is planned to be implemented using AzerGold's internal revenues and borrowed funds,” Ibrahimov said.
Ibrahimov said the second project is the Ortakend gold deposit in Nakhchivan.
“The first production is scheduled for 2029. The gold resource amounts to 246,000 ounces and its economic value is 1.8 billion manat ($1.05 billion). The required investment is 255 million manat ($149 million). This project is also planned to be implemented using AzerGold's internal revenues and borrowed funds,” he said.
Ibrahimov noted that the Filizchay polymetallic deposit, like other polymetallic deposits around the world, is among the most complex deposits due to various geological and other factors.
“The project is planned to reach full-scale production by the end of 2031. During the 34-year operating period of the deposit, 363,000 tons of copper, 2.7 million tons of zinc and 1 million tons of lead resources are planned to be brought into production. The economic value of the project is 29.7 billion manat ($17.4 billion), while the required investment is approximately 1 billion manat ($588 million). The project could be implemented using AzerGold's internal revenues, borrowed funds and, in accordance with your instruction, attracting investor funds in various amounts,” he said.
According to him, first production under the Dashkasan iron ore project is scheduled for 2030.
“The project will ultimately create an annual production capacity of 2 million tons of hot briquetted iron, and the required investment is 1.95 billion manat ($1.14 billion). Financing will be provided through the state budget, borrowed funds and the participation of an investor. Thus, as I mentioned, the four strategic projects require approximately 3.63 billion manat ($2.13 billion) in investment, and we will apply for approximately 10% of this amount to be allocated from the state budget,” he added.
