BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 8. Anglo Asian Mining PLC, the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer working in Azerbaijan, has signed a protocol with the Government of Azerbaijan on an action plan to implement certain enhancements to its operations and procedures, Trend reports.
These measures were identified in the recent environmental audit in Gadabay carried out by Micon International Ltd at the behest of Azerbaijan.
As a result of signing the protocol and agreeing the Action Plan, the company is now free to restart all its operations. The restart will be carried out in stages, and mining will recommence immediately.
The company's heap leach operations continued to operate throughout the recent partial shutdown, but without addition of ore. The restart of mining will enable fresh ore to be placed on the heaps so that production of gold doré, and copper concentrate from SART, will return to its former levels.
The company's flotation plant will restart approximately 90 days before the wall of the existing tailings dam has been further raised. This is to utilize the remaining capacity of the existing tailings dam at its current height. Flotation will initially process ore mined from the Gadabay open pit, until higher grade ore becomes available from the new Gilar mine, which is expected to begin operation in the first half of 2024. The company is now accelerating the development of Gilar. Agitation leaching will restart once the raise of the tailings dam wall is completed and high-grade ore is available from the Gilar mine.
The company is actively collaborating with Azerbaijan to implement any additional measures required in response to the Micon environmental report, to ensure the successful execution of the wall raise. The company will update the market once a timetable for the wall raise has been settled.
The company maintains its production guidance of 30,000 to 34,000 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the whole of 2023.
Anglo Asian Mining PLC is a gold, copper and silver producer with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The company's portfolio includes an area of 1,962 square kilometers.
