Gold producer launches output at second Gosha field
By Nigar Orujova
Anglo Asian Mining, a company extracting precious metals in resource-rich Azerbaijan, is launching production at the second Gosha field in western Azerbaijan, the company said on September 11.
According to the company, a trial batch of 100 tons of ore was produced in the field, located 50 km from Gadabay, in early September. The company will start regular production at the field by the end of the year.
The ore will be sent to a new refinery in Gadabay from early 2014.
Anglo-Asian Mining plans to produce 15,000 to 20,000 ounces of gold per year from the field.
The company also says that following the commissioning of the new agitation leaching plant in Gadabay in June, it has posted its highest monthly yield on record since the mine first extracted gold in May 2009.
Gold production from the plant and original heap leach operations totalled 7,600 ounces in August.
The company's full-year gold production target remains at 60,000 ounces.
In this regard, the company expects to see its total gold production rising to between 80,000 and 90,000 ounces by the end of 2014, if both the Gosha mine and the Gadabay plant operate as expected.
Anglo-Asian Mining also reported on the completion of an extensive drilling program on the Gadabay gold and copper mine.
According to the company, the drilling of approximately 30,000 meters was aimed at expanding the existing deposit with a further increase of its mineral reserves and resources. Initial results have shown significant potential for increasing the volume of the reserves. The final report on drilling will be prepared by the end of September.
The latest data shows that evaluated and rated gold reserves at the field total 1,054,382 ounces, or 29.89 tons, 81,765 tons of copper, and 8,608,551 ounces, or 244.05 tons, of silver.
Taking into account the evaluated, nominal and potential reserves at the field, after processing of 48.14 million tons of ore, it is possible to mine over 36 tons of gold, which exceeds previous estimates by 61 percent, as well as 94,890 tons of copper (93 percent rise), and 292 tons of silver (36 percent increase).
The company's head Reza Vaziri said, "We are expecting a reserve upgrade at Gadabay in the near-term which will see an increase in the amount of the mineable ore-body and in-turn life of the mine."
According to the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, gold reserves have doubled in Azerbaijan due to deposits found in recent years. In the last ten years, 192 deposits of various profiles were put on the balance in 25 regions of the country.
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.
In 2012, the company produced 50,215 ounces of gold, 20,133 ounces of silver and 502 tons of copper from the Gadabay field.
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.