BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 29
By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:
The UK’s Anglo Asian Mining PLC, the gold, copper and silver producer in Azerbaijan, may increase portfolio of its gold production assets in the country, Trend reports on June 29 referring to the company.
If the new fields are viable, it will increase gold production in Azerbaijan. The scale of increase and timing of production are dependent on exploration results, the company said.
It was also noted that 100,000 ounces or more annual output is the next target and the company will continue to work on its development to attain the targets as soon as possible.
“The exploration is anticipated to take two to three years assuming full access, followed by another one to two years for reserve estimation and mine construction,” the company said.
The report also touched upon copper potential in the company's portfolio, having pointed out that its current exploration strategy is also targeting the porphyry-copper, or copper-gold, mineralization.
“Deposits of this type typically contain resources of 100 to 350 million tons at grades of 0.30- to 0.55-percent copper. Additionally, a number of high-grade gold occurrences were identified which, if progressed to a low-cost production unit, may themselves possibly yield gold in the range of 20,000 to 50,000 ounces per year,” the company also noted.
However, as the company added, until exploration and feasibility studies are completed, it would be impossible to predict level and timescales of the sustainable production.
Anglo Asian Mining PLC has a wide portfolio of gold, copper and silver exploration and production assets in Azerbaijan and it is also involved in gold, copper and silver production in the Central Asia.
The company's portfolio includes an area of 1,962 square kilometers, selected on the basis of an analysis of historical Soviet geological data and concluded in accordance with the Production Sharing Agreement on the model of Azerbaijan’s oil industry.
The company's main operating location is the Gadabay contract area ("Gadabay") which is a 300-square kilometer area in the Lesser Caucasus mountains in western Azerbaijan.
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