Azerbaijan, Baku, April 7 / Trend, N.Ismayilova /
Debts of Anglo Asian Mining Plc, the Azerbaijan-based gold producer, decreased by more than double from $46 million to $22 million this year, the company said.
"During the first quarter of 2011 the company paid $8.6 million to its main lender - International Bank of Azerbaijan, thus, repaying the bank's loan to the point of $21 million," the statement says.
Including the company's debts to Anglo Asian Reza executive director Reza Veziri in the amount of one million dollars, as of the end of the quarter, the company's total debts amounted to $22 million.
The company's aggregate loans and borrowings amounted to $43 million as of Dec.31, 2009, while it totaled $45.9 million in March 2010.
Anglo Asian Mining Plc is the only gold producer in Azerbaijan. The company owns the rights to develop six fields in south-west Azerbaijan at Gedabey, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gizil Bulag, Vejnali and Soyutlu. The concession is based on PSA agreements signed with the Azerbaijani government in August 1997. According to the contract, it plans to produce about 400 tons of gold, 2,500 tons of silver and 1.5 million tons of copper at the fields.
The first gold and silver were extracted at Gedabey mine in May 2009. Over 300,000 ounces of gold is planned to be produced, overall, at Gedabey field before 2015.