17 April 2024
Anglo Asian Mining
plc
Q1 2024 Production and
Operations Review
Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo
Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver
producer focused in Azerbaijan, provides the following production,
sales and operational review for its Gedabek contract area
("Gedabek") in western Azerbaijan for the three months to 31 March
2024 ("Q1 2024", or the "Quarter").
Production was significantly reduced
during the Quarter due to operations remaining partially shut down
as the Company awaits permission to raise its tailings dam wall,
which it expects to receive shortly. Gold production from heap
leaching and copper production from SART continued throughout the
Quarter.
Q1
2024 Production update
·
Total production of 2,548 gold equivalent ounces
("GEOs") (Q1 2023: 10,969 GEOs)
o Copper
production of 54 tonnes (Q1 2023: 847 tonnes)
o Gold
production of 2,252 ounces (Q1 2023: 6,741 ounces)
o Silver
production of 6,410 ounces (Q1 2023: 22,566 ounces)
Q1
2024 Sales and cash update
·
Total gold bullion sales of 3,925 ounces at an
average of $2,080 per ounce (Q1 2023: 5,719 ounces at an average of
$1,895 per ounce)
·
The Group has maintained a strong focus on cash
and strict cost control, with a net debt position of $10.9 million
at 31 March 2024 (31 December 2023: $10.2 million)
·
Net cash outflow in Q1 2024 of only $0.7 million
due to sale of opening inventory along with strong cost
control
·
Inventory valued at $2.0 million at 31 March 2024
(31 December 2023: 2,506 ounces of gold valued at $6.9 million and
copper concentrate valued at $0.2 million)
Outlook
·
The Group submitted all necessary documents by 14
March 2024 to the Government of Azerbaijan to raise the tailings
dam wall and is now awaiting receipt of the permission
·
Receipt of the permission will enable the
resumption of normalised production at Gedabek and, at this stage,
the Company will accordingly issue guidance for the full year
2024
·
The Company continues to prioritise the
progression of its development portfolio with first production from
the new Gilar mine now planned for Q4 2024
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:
"Amid what has been a challenging time for the Company, we
have made important operational progress and our portfolio of
development assets is progressing in line with our expectations. We
await Government permission to raise our tailings dam wall, a
necessary step for resuming normal production levels and our
ability to issue production guidance for the year. We anticipate
the permit will be issued shortly and this will enable us to take
advantage of the current strong metal prices for the benefit of all
our stakeholders".
Note that all references to "$" are to United
States dollars.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, which was incorporated
into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal)
Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.
For further information please
contact:
Anglo Asian Mining plc
|
|
Reza Vaziri, Chief Executive
Officer
|
Tel: +994 12 596 3350
|
Bill Morgan, Chief Financial
Officer
|
Tel: +994 502 910 400
|
Stephen Westhead, Vice
President
|
Tel: +994 502 916 894
|
|
|
SP
Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Ewan Leggat
Adam Cowl
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
|
|
|
Hudson Sandler (Financial
PR)
Charlie Jack
Harry Griffiths
|
Tel: +44
0) 20 7796 4133
|
Notes to editors
Anglo Asian Mining
plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer with a
high-quality portfolio of production and exploration assets
in Azerbaijan. The Company produced 31,821 gold equivalent
ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December
2023.
On 30 March 2023, the Company
published its strategic plan for growth which shows a clearly
defined path for the Company to transition to a multi-asset,
mid-tier, copper and gold producer by 2028, by which time copper
will be the principal product of the Company, with forecast
production of around 36,000 copper equivalent tonnes. It plans to
achieve this growth by bringing into production four new mines
during the period 2024 to 2028 at Zafar, Gilar, Xarxar and
Garadag.
https://www.angloasianmining.com/
Q1
2024 Production overview
·
Gold production of 2,252 ounces (Q1 2023: 6,741
ounces):
o 2,245
ounces contained within gold doré
o 7 ounces
from sulphidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening
("SART") processing
·
Copper production of 54 tonnes (Q1 2023: 847
tonnes) from SART processing
·
Silver production totalled 6,410 ounces (Q1 2023:
22,566 ounces):
o 1,517
ounces contained within gold doré
o 4,893
ounces from SART processing
Q1
2024 Sales overview
·
Total gold bullion sales of 3,925 ounces at an
average of $2,080 per ounce (Q1 2023: 5,719 ounces at an average of
$1,895 per ounce)
·
Total concentrate sales of 71 dry metric tonnes
("dmt") with a value of $0.3 million (Q1 2023: 1,147 dmt with a
value of $2.7 million)
·
800 ounces of gold bullion was sold for $2,006.32
per ounce under the Group's hedging program on 31 January 2024
generating lower revenue of $27,000 compared to the closing spot
price on the day
Q1
2024 Financials overview
·
Cash of $9.8 million
($10.5 million at
31 December 2023)
·
Debt unchanged at $20.7 million
($20.7 million at
31 December 2023)
·
Net debt of $10.9 million ($10.2 million at 31
December 2023)
·
Unsold gold doré
and copper concentrate inventory of $2.0
million
The Company mined the following ore
during FY 2023 and Q1 2024:
|
12 months
to
31 December
2023
|
3 months to
31 March
2024
|
Mine
|
Ore mined
|
Average
gold grade
|
Ore mined
|
Average
gold grade
|
|
(tonnes)
|
(g/t)
|
(tonnes)
|
(g/t)
|
Open pit
|
1,180,695
|
0.38
|
186,122
|
0.81
|
Gadir - u/g
|
109,320
|
1.64
|
50,964
|
2.18
|
Gedabek - u/g
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Total
|
1,290,015
|
0.49
|
237,086
|
1.10
|
The Company processed the following
amounts and grades of ore by leaching for FY 2023 and Q1 2024:
Quarter ended
|
Ore
processed
|
Gold grade of ore
processed
|
|
Heap leach pad crushed
ore
(tonnes)
|
Heap leach pad
ROM
ore
(tonnes)
|
Agitation
leaching
plant*
(tonnes)
|
Heap leach pad crushed
ore
(g/t)
|
Heap leach pad
ROM
ore
(g/t)
|
Agitation
leaching
plant*
(g/t)
|
31 March 2023
|
94,518
|
196,595
|
62,006
|
0.74
|
0.49
|
1.3
|
30 June 2023
|
56,522
|
202,788
|
105,213
|
0.75
|
0.46
|
1.4
|
30 September 2023
|
25,690
|
34,621
|
-
|
0.83
|
0.45
|
-
|
31 December 2023
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
FY
2023
|
176,730
|
434,004
|
167,219
|
0.76
|
0.48
|
1.4
|
31 March 2024
|
120,528
|
-
|
-
|
0.68
|
-
|
-
|
* includes previously heap
leached ore.
The Company processed the following
amounts of ore and contained metal by flotation for
FY 2023 and Q1 2024:
Quarter ended
|
Ore
processed
|
Gold
content
|
Silver
content
|
Copper
content
|
|
(tonnes)
|
(ounces)
|
(ounces)
|
(tonnes)
|
31 March 2023
|
192,516
|
1,487
|
19,787
|
1,133
|
30 June 2023
|
190,593
|
1,033
|
10,380
|
1,191
|
30 September 2023
|
62,369
|
478
|
4,358
|
363
|
31 December 2023
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
FY
2023
|
445,478
|
2,998
|
34,525
|
2,687
|
31 March 2024
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
The following table summarises gold
doré production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2023 and Q1
2024:
Quarter
ended
|
Gold
produced*
(ounces)
|
Silver
produced*
(ounces)
|
Gold
sales**
(ounces)
|
Gold Sales
price
($/ounce)
|
31 March 2023
|
5,965
|
2,841
|
5,719
|
1,895
|
30 June 2023
|
7,375
|
3,593
|
4,787
|
1,992
|
30 September 2023
|
4,001
|
1,488
|
2,900
|
1,949
|
31 December 2023
|
2,975
|
1,610
|
2,416
|
2,004
|
FY
2023
|
20,316
|
9,532
|
15,822
|
1,951
|
31 March 2024
|
2,245
|
1,517
|
3,925
|
2,080
|
Note
* including Government of
Azerbaijan's share
** excluding Government of
Azerbaijan's share
The gold and silver
production from agitation and heap leaching
for FY 2023 and Q1 2024 is as follows:
Quarter
ended
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
Agitation
leaching
(ounces)
|
Heap
leaching
(ounces)
|
Total
(ounces)
|
Agitation
leaching
(ounces)
|
Heap
leaching
(ounces)
|
Total
(ounces)
|
31 March 2023
|
2,105
|
3,860
|
5,965
|
1,077
|
1,764
|
2,841
|
30 June 2023
|
3,463
|
3,912
|
7,375
|
1,735
|
1,858
|
3,593
|
30 Sept 2023
|
-
|
4,001
|
4,001
|
-
|
1,488
|
1,488
|
31 Dec 2023
|
-
|
2,975
|
2,975
|
-
|
1,610
|
1,610
|
FY
2023
|
5,568
|
14,748
|
20,316
|
2,812
|
6,720
|
9,532
|
31 March 2024
|
-
|
2,245
|
2,245
|
-
|
1,517
|
1,517
|
The following table summarises
copper concentrate production from both the Company's SART and
flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2023 and Q1 2024:
|
Concentrate
|
Copper
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
|
production*
|
content*
|
content*
|
content*
|
|
(dmt)
|
(tonnes)
|
(ounces)
|
(ounces)
|
2023
|
|
|
|
|
Quarter ended 31 March
|
|
|
|
|
SART processing
|
364
|
191
|
26
|
8,750
|
Flotation
|
4,544
|
665
|
762
|
11,095
|
Total
|
4,908
|
856
|
788
|
19,845
|
Quarter ended 30 June
|
|
|
|
|
SART processing
|
272
|
145
|
16
|
10,316
|
Flotation
|
5,613
|
869
|
479
|
8,101
|
Total
|
5,885
|
1,014
|
495
|
18,417
|
Quarter ended 30 September
|
|
|
|
|
SART processing
|
85
|
43
|
4
|
2,194
|
Flotation
|
1,316
|
207
|
151
|
1,974
|
Total
|
1,401
|
250
|
155
|
4,168
|
Quarter ended 31 December
|
|
|
|
|
SART processing
|
29
|
18
|
4
|
1,264
|
Flotation
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Total
|
29
|
18
|
4
|
1,264
|
2024
|
|
|
|
|
Quarter ended 31 March
|
|
|
|
|
SART processing
|
89
|
54
|
7
|
4,893
|
Flotation
|
0
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Total
|
89
|
54
|
7
|
4,893
|
Note
* including Government of
Azerbaijan's share.
Certain amounts for SART and
flotation production may differ to those previously disclosed due
to final reconciliation of production.
The following table summarises total
copper concentrate production and sales for FY 2023 and Q1
2024. Note that sales of concentrates are
initially recorded at provisional amounts until agreement of final
assay:
|
Concentrate
|
Copper
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
Concentrate
|
Concentrate
|
|
production*
|
content*
|
content*
|
content*
|
sales**
|
sales**
|
|
(dmt)
|
(tonnes)
|
(ounces)
|
(ounces)
|
(dmt)
|
($000)
|
Quarter ended
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31 March 2023
|
4,908
|
856
|
788
|
19,845
|
1,147
|
2,743
|
30 June 2023
|
5,885
|
1,014
|
495
|
18,417
|
5,501
|
7,678
|
30 September 2023
|
1,401
|
250
|
155
|
4,168
|
2,358
|
3,066
|
31 December 2023
|
29
|
18
|
4
|
1,264
|
2,186
|
2,306
|
FY
2023
|
12,223
|
2,138
|
1,442
|
43,694
|
11,192
|
15,793
|
31 March 2024
|
89
|
54
|
7
|
4,
893
|
71
|
295
|
* including Government of
Azerbaijan's share
** excludes Government of
Azerbaijan's share
Q1
2024 Financial review
The Company's net debt increased
from $10.2 million at 31 December 2023 to $10.9 million at 31 March
2024 as follows:
|
$million
|
$million
|
31
December 2023
|
|
(10.2)
|
Revenue
|
8.6
|
|
VAT refund
|
1.3
|
|
Interest income
|
0.2
|
|
Operating costs
|
(9.6)
|
|
Capital expenditure
|
(0.7)
|
|
Debt servicing
|
(0.5)
|
|
Outflow in Q1
2024
|
|
(0.7)
|
31
March 2024
|
|
(10.9)
|