Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan, known for producing a number of important minerals, has increased gold mining.

This January-July, the country produced 3,605 kg of gold, which is 3.2 times more than the corresponding period of 2016, according to the State Statistics Committee.

Oil and gas are the two most dominant minerals in the country’s economy but, gold is among its most significant minerals and is one of the most lucrative sectors for investment.

The gold mining in Azerbaijan is currently being implemented in fields of Gadabay (Anglo-Asian Mining PLC (AAM)) and Dashkasan (AzerGold) regions.

Anglo Asian Mining PLC is a gold, copper and silver producer with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan.

Based on the production sharing agreement signed with Azerbaijani government in August 1997, Anglo Asian Mining PLC has the right to develop six fields in south-west of Azerbaijan including Gadabay, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gizil Bulag, Vejnali and Soyutlu.

The company plans to start gold production on the Ugur field in the fourth quarter of 2017. The Ugur deposit, which was discovered in 2016, is located three kilometers to the north-west of the company's main fields.

The state-owned company AzerGold was established on February 11, 2015. The company uses new technologies in exploration, development and management of non-ferrous metal deposits, modernization of the material and technical sources and their effective use, as well as other work for developing this sphere.

The first gold and silver export of AzerGold CJSC was carried out in May 2017, selling 66 gold alloys, 16,000 of which were gold, 24,000 ounces - silver. The first export batch brought the country's income in the amount of $20.1 million.

By late 2017, the company plans to increase the volume of gold and silver mined for export to 160,000 ounces (70,000 ounces of gold, 90,000 ounces of silver).

About 900 fields were registered in Azerbaijan's state and territorial balance of reserves of mineral resources. Roughly 253 of these fields, including 18 ore, 55 non-ore, 179 deposits of construction materials and one underground fresh water deposit, have been registered after the establishment of the of Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry.

The country plans to produce 64,000-72,000 ounces of gold in 2017. The Ministry estimates that the country is able to produce about 10-15 tons of gold a year.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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