AAM plans to improve performance in 2015

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan’s precious metals producer, Anglo-Asian Mining plc is planning to significantly improve its performance this year.

The company provided a positive update on the development and construction of its small-scale flotation plant at the Gadabay gold, copper, silver mine, in western Azerbaijan, aimed at increasing future metal production, and a corporate update on potential cost savings and the net debt position.

Construction of the small scale 20 tons per hour flotation plant is progressing well. The main building was completed and flotation cells are under installation, the company reported.

The plant is originally designed to increase copper production. However, in-house test work and engineering studies have demonstrated the feasibility of a modified small scale flotation plant improving not only copper but also gold and silver recoveries.

The modified plant is targeted to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2015. Additional capital cost of design modifications is expected to reach $1 million. This will bring the total capital expenditure to $4.7 million.

“I am delighted to report on the significant progress being made with regards to the construction of our small scale flotation plant with commissioning targeted for the third quarter of 2015,” Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri said.

“Recent test work and engineering studies have shown that flotation should enable us to achieve much higher production of precious metal and copper than previously anticipated,” he added.

He noted that this will also help to solve the issue of the low recoveries recently being experienced by the agitation leaching plant, which is the main process to recover gold at Gadabay mine.

“In addition, the revised specification of the small scale flotation plant will give us flexibility in processing the poly-metallic ore at Gadabay,” Vaziri underscored.

The recent 34 percent devaluation of the Azerbaijan manat is expected to result in cost savings to a value of approximately $6.5 million for the rest of 2015.

Reza Vaziri said, AAM being the Company which sells its products for dollars and which has a significant portion of its costs in Azerbaijan manats, will have a beneficial effect from this process.

Anglo Asian Mining, a cash generative and profitable gold and copper mining and exploration company, started gold and silver production in May 2009 and copper concentrate production in 2010 at the Gadabay mine.

The company has the rights to develop six deposits in the south-west of Azerbaijan - Gadabay, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gyzyl Bulag, Vezhnali and Soyutlu, under a production sharing agreement signed in August 1997 with Azerbaijan's government.

The gold and silver produced there are sent to Switzerland for refining, and gold bars are delivered to the country and preserved by the government.