RCS - Anglo Asian Mining - Caterpillar Underground Mining Equipment delivery

Anglo Asian MiningAnnouncement

12/12/2023 07:15

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RNS Number : 4684W  Anglo Asian Mining PLC  12 December 2023

12 December 2023

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Caterpillar Underground Mining Equipment delivered to Gedabek Site

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM-listed gold,
copper and silver producer focused on Azerbaijan, is pleased to announce the
Caterpillar underground mining fleet for its new Gilar mine has now been
delivered to the Company's Gedabek mine site. This will be the first time
Caterpillar underground equipment will be deployed in Azerbaijan. The
equipment will be substantially vendor financed and this is the first time
Caterpillar will provide finance to a customer in Azerbaijan or the wider
Caucasus region.

The underground mining fleet comprises three R1700 underground loaders and two
980UMA underground loaders. Further details of the equipment are available at
https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2023/12/R1700.pdf
(https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia%2F2023%2F12%2FR1700.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Ckgaysina%40hudsonsandler.com%7Ce976b7f54f1c4c66435b08dbfa6f3ca2%7Ca33bdb157e25438ab1fd5c523a8866f9%7C0%7C0%7C638379129991056317%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=o4XeYNfWE%2FmGuV8vps5VKh8HA5ieD2BKoBB%2Bs7TeWL4%3D&reserved=0)
and
https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2023/12/980UMA.pdf
(https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmedia%2F2023%2F12%2F980UMA.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Ckgaysina%40hudsonsandler.com%7Ce976b7f54f1c4c66435b08dbfa6f3ca2%7Ca33bdb157e25438ab1fd5c523a8866f9%7C0%7C0%7C638379129991056317%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8DO5KkFe7nMWDNneCk7eEPMwf6Z3BOMGQ03vHlrA9U8%3D&reserved=0)
. Borusan, the authorised regional dealer of Caterpillar equipment, will
maintain a stock of spare parts and consumables within Azerbaijan and major
parts will be held at Borusan regional centres in Türkiye and Kazakhstan.
This will enable efficient after-sales servicing of the machines over their
lifetime, which was a major factor in the machine selection process.

The underground mining fleet are "state-of-the-art", next-generation machines
constructed with safety at their core. They are more powerful and contain many
new features compared to their predecessors. The operator environment has been
improved and is more comfortable. Many new safety features have been added
including better access points, multiple fire suppression systems and improved
visibility and lighting.

The underground equipment will be utilised in the Company's new Gilar mine,
which is currently under construction and development. The deployment of the
new underground equipment will require the recruitment of around 50 new local
employees, including equipment operators and equipment maintenance and support
staff. Approximately 800 local staff are currently directly employed by the
Company at Gedabek. In addition, the Company also provides employment for
around 600 local residents with the Company's contractors.

The total cost of the equipment is $4.6 million. The $3.7 million balance due
for the purchase of the equipment will be paid by the end of December 2023
from the Group's existing liquidity resources. It is anticipated that $3.7
million will be refinanced by a vendor financing loan from Caterpillar.
Negotiations are continuing with Caterpillar Finance to finalise execution of
the loan which is expected to close in Q1 2024.

A ceremony was held on the afternoon of Monday 11 December 2023 to mark the
arrival of the equipment at Gedabek. This was attended by the Group's
leadership team, Azeri and Turkish representatives from Caterpillar and
Borusan, along with representatives from both the central and regional
Governments of Azerbaijan. A demonstration was also given of operating one of
the machines by remote control. The event attracted considerable interest
within Azerbaijan with journalists from both print and broadcast media also in
attendance.

Image 1: Anglo Asian Mining Vice President Stephen Westhead addressing the
crowd at the ceremony.

 

Image 2: Caterpillar equipment outside the Gilar portal.

 

Image 3: Caterpillar equipment which will be used at Gilar.

 

Image 4: Reza Vaziri, Chief Executive Officer, speaking to local media
following the event.

 

 

The Caterpillar equipment will be deployed in the Company's new Gilar mine. On
11 December 2023, a maiden JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate was published
for the Gilar deposit.  This confirmed 6.10 million tonnes of mineralisation
with an average copper grade of 0.88 per cent. and 1.30 grammes of gold per
tonne. The In-situ mineral resource is 54,000 tonnes of copper, 255,000 ounces
of gold and 46,000 tonnes of zinc.

 

The Gilar mine is scheduled to begin production around the middle of 2024 and
will be an important source of production, bridging the gap between declining
grades at Gedabek's existing mines and production starting from its much
bigger Xarxar and Garadag contract areas.

 

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)   Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat

 Adam Cowl
 Hudson Sandler (Financial PR)                                   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133

 Charlie Jack

 Harry Griffiths

Competent Person Statement

The information in the announcement that relates to exploration results,
minerals resources and ore reserves is based on information compiled by
Dr Stephen Westhead, who is a full-time employee of Anglo Asian Mining with
the position of Vice-President, who is a Fellow of The Geological Society of
London, a Chartered Geologist, Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists,
Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Member of
the Institute of Directors.

 

Stephen Westhead has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012
Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results,
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Stephen Westhead consents to the
inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the
form and context in which it appears.

 

Stephen Westhead has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
that he is undertaking, to qualify as a "competent person" as defined by the
AIM rules. Stephen Westhead has reviewed the mineral resources included in
this announcement.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, Mineral Resources figures in this notification
are not based on a Standard for the reporting of reserves and resources, such
as JORC, as defined in the AIM Rules for Companies.

 

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 57,618 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year
ended 31 December 2022.

 

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.

 

The Company owns approximately 17.4 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold
Corporation ("Libero"). Libero is listed on the TSX Venture
Exchange in Canada and owns, or has the option to acquire, several copper
exploration properties in North and South America, including Mocoa
in Colombia, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-molybdenum
resources.

https://www.angloasianmining.com/ (https://www.angloasianmining.com/)

 

 

 

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