Gold producer gets $30 mln to build leaching plant in Azerbaijan
By Nigar Orujova
Anglo Asian Mining, a company extracting precious metals in
resource-rich Azerbaijan, has drawn $30 million from the
International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) for the construction of
a
tank-leaching plant, its president, Reza Vaziri, told Trend news
agency on Friday.
Anglo Asian Mining plc is a cash generative and profitable gold and copper mining and exploration company, which started gold and silver production in May 2009 and copper concentrate production in 2010 at the Gedabey gold and copper mine located in northwestern Azerbaijan.
"The plant requires $54 million in investments, but perhaps less will be needed," Vaziri said. "We regularly draw $1-2 million from the IBA for the plant construction. To date, we have drawn about $30 million for the new plant. According to the business plan, we will be able to repay the loan in two or two and half years. I hope that this will happen even sooner."
The new plant, which will be built in the Gedabey gold and copper deposit area, is planned to be commissioned next March. Construction work has been launched.
Anglo Asian Mining reached agreement in September on the allocation of another loan from the IBA, worth $10.5 million. The funds are to be spent in the initial stages of the tank-leaching plant construction.
Earlier, in May 2012, the IBA provided the company with a first, $7.5 million loan. Also, the IBA pledged in writing to provide an additional $42 million.
The new plant, which is designed to process 100 tons of ore per hour, will process ore and resources not suitable for heap leaching - a method of obtaining gold from ore that is currently in use in the field. Vat leaching technology allows extraction of more than 90 percent of gold contained in the treated ore, compared to about 70 percent obtained through heap leaching.
According to preliminary estimates, gold recovery at the plant is expected to reach 85 percent in oxide ore and 69 percent in sulfide ore. Moreover, the company continues conducting tests geared towards improvement of these indices.
Anglo Asian Mining has the rights to develop six deposits in the south-west of Azerbaijan -- Gedabey, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gyzyl Bulag, Vezhnali and Soyutlu, based on a production sharing agreement signed in August 1997 with Azerbaijan's government.
Under the agreement, it is planned to produce about 400 tons of gold, 2,500 tons of silver and 1.5 million tons of cooper.
Anglo-Asian Mining produced 35,685 ounces of gold at the Gedabey mine over the three quarters of 2012.
According to Reza Vaziri, the company plans to produce 49,000 to 51,000 ounces of gold until the year-end, 80,000 to 85,000 ounces in 2013, and 95,000 to 100,000 ounces in 2014. Thus, the company aims to double gold production in the country by 2015.
"Due to the very cold winter, production figures are lower than planned, that's why we revised down the projection to 49,000-51,000 ounces," Vaziri said on Thursday. He also noted that 57,000 ounces were produced in 2011.
Vaziri said that with the new plant's launching in 2013 Anglo Asian Mining plans to boost production at the Gedabey deposit to 67,000-70,000 ounces of gold.
"In the second half of 2013, we plan to start production at the Gosha Bulag deposit and plan to produce 15-20,000 ounces of gold there until the year-end, and up to 25,000 ounces in 2014. We also expect to increase silver and copper production, and by the end of 2013 we plan to produce 26,000 ounces of silver and 600 tons of copper at Gedabey."
According to the PSA agreement, since 2009, the company transferred 22,000-23,000 ounces of gold out of the 180,000 ounces produced to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Vaziri said.
"Since the start of our activity we have operated with a profit. In 2011 our after-tax profit was $21 million. We expect $15-20 million profit in 2012, and in 2013 the profit will increase," Vaziri said.
According to projections, silver and copper ore production is expected to increase in the future.
Silver production is expected to reach 1,240 kilograms in 2013, 1,252 kilograms in 2014, 1,265 kilograms in 2015, and 1,278 kilograms in 2016.
Anglo-Asian Mining produced 15,342 ounces of silver as of September 2012, with 3,168 ounces produced in the third quarter.
Mining of copper ores and concentrates will amount to 885.7 tons in 2013, 1,062 tons in 2014, some 1,275 tons in 2015, and 2,362 tons in 2016.
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.