REG - Anglo Asian Mining - Q3 and 9M 2022 Production and Operations review

Anglo Asian MiningAnnouncement

13/10/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 7158C  Anglo Asian Mining PLC  13 October 2022

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

 

13 October 2022

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Q3 and 9M 2022 Production and Operations review

Production of 14,309 gold equivalent ounces in Q3 2022

Cash of $15.3 million at 30 September 2022

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM-listed gold,
copper and silver producer operating in Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide a
production, sales and operations review for the three and nine months to 30
September 2022 ("Q3 2022" and "9M 2022" respectively).

 

Operational update

·   Transformational acquisition of rights to three new concessions with
significant copper reserves was passed into law on 5 July 2022

·    Zafar mine design has advanced well

o Portal location has been identified close to the processing facilities

o Geotechnical drilling is complete, with drill core testing underway

o Underground mining fleet and ancillary equipment have been selected for
purchase

 

Production update

·    Q3 2022 production of 14,309 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") (Q3
2021: 16,316 GEOs)

·    9M 2022 total production of 43,081 GEOs (9M 2021: 48,487 GEOs)

·    Full Year 2022 ("FY 2022") production guidance of 54,000 to 58,000
GEOs maintained

 

Cash and inventory update

·   Cash of $15.3 million at 30 September 2022 (30 June 2022: $21.2
million) with the following payments made in Q3 2022

o Final 2021 dividend of $4.0 million

o Profits tax of $0.3 million

o Further investment of $0.8 million in Libero Copper & Gold Corporation

o $1.2 million paid for the acquisition of exploration data and associated
studies and reports relating to Garadagh and Xarxar from AzerGold

·  An interim dividend for 2022 of US 4 cents (Sterling 3.5559 pence) per
ordinary share will be paid gross to shareholders on 3 November 2022

·   The Company had inventory at market value of $15.5 million at 30
September 2022 (gold and silver bullion of $11.8 million and copper
concentrate of $3.7 million)

 

Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:

"The Company is delighted to report a good third quarter and year to date
performance. Production figures remain robust, with total production of 14,309
gold equivalent ounces in the quarter, which remains largely in line with the
output in the same period in the previous year. Copper production totalled 609
tonnes and silver totalled 45,063 ounces, an increase in production relative
to the prior year period.

 

"We are also pleased to report an excellent advancement of the new mine at
Zafar. Geotechnical drilling is complete, and the drill core is now in the
process of being tested. We remain on track to bring Zafar into production in
2023.

 

"We look forward to updating the market on our strategy for developing of our
new mines and the three new license areas in due course."

 

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:

 Reza Vaziri       Anglo Asian Mining plc          Tel: +994 12 596 3350
 Bill Morgan       Anglo Asian Mining plc          Tel: +994 502 910 400
 Stephen Westhead  Anglo Asian Mining plc          Tel: +994 502 916 894
 Ewan Leggat       SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP  Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470

 Adam Cowl         Nominated Adviser and Broker
 Charlie Jack      Hudson Sandler                  Tel: +44(0) 20 7796 4133

 Harry Griffiths

 

Notes to editors:

Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer
in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets
in Azerbaijan. The Company produced 64,610 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs")
for the year ended 31 December 2021.

 

In December 2021, the Company undertook a private placement which acquired
19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). The
transaction was completed in January 2022. 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.

 

On 5 July 2022, the Government of Azerbaijan ratified amendments to its
Production Sharing Agreement, granting Anglo Asian three additional
concessions totalling a combined area of 882 square kilometres. This includes
the Garadagh porphyry copper deposit, with a Soviet classified resource of
over 300,000 tonnes of copper. The acquisition of these concessions is
transformational to Anglo Asian's asset portfolio and underpins the strategic
target of transitioning into a mid-tier copper focused miner.

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

 

Production overview

 

Q3 2022

·    Total production of 14,309 GEOs (Q3 2021: 16,316 GEOs)

·    Gold production of 11,087 ounces (Q3 2021: 12,847 ounces):

o 10,473 ounces contained within gold doré

o 33 ounces from sulfidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening
("SART") processing

o 581 ounces from flotation processing

·    Copper production totalled 609 tonnes (Q3 2021: 573 tonnes):

o 208 tonnes from SART processing

o 401 tonnes from flotation processing

·    Silver production totalled 45,063 ounces (Q3 2021: 36,912 ounces):

o 6,949 ounces contained within gold doré

o 24,020 ounces from SART processing

o 14,094 ounces from flotation processing

 

9M 2022

·    Total production of 43,081 GEOs (9M 2021: 48,487 GEOs)

·    Gold production of 31,993 ounces (9M 2021: 37,096 ounces)

·    Copper production totalled 1,892 tonnes (9M 2021: 1,906 tonnes)

·    Silver production totalled 144,562 ounces (9M 2021: 115,843 ounces)

 

Sales

·    Q3 2022 gold bullion sales of 10,000 ounces at an average of $1,727
per ounce (Q3 2021: 6,828 ounces sold at an average of $1,815 per ounce)

·    Q3 2022 copper concentrate shipments totalled 1,618 dry metric tonnes
("dmt") with a sales value of $3.1 million (excluding Government of Azerbaijan
profit share) (Q3 2021: 3,549 dmt with a sales value of $5.7 million)

 

Company financials

·   The Company had cash of $15.3 million at 30 September 2022 ($21.2
million at 30 June 2022). The Company made the following payments in Q3 2022

o Final dividend for 2021: $4.0 million

o Profits tax: $0.3 million

o Further investment in Libero Copper & Gold Corporation: $0.8 million

o Data purchase from AzerGold: $1.2 million

Zafar mine update

·    Mine design and geotechnical sampling for construction planning is
well advanced for the Zafar mine

·    A site for the portal has been identified close to the Company's
existing processing facilities and about 1,000 metres from the planned
underground gallery. Geotechnical drilling has been completed and the drill
core is now being tested

·  Underground mining equipment has been selected with the major drilling
equipment being supplied by Epiroc and the mining and loading equipment being
supplied by Caterpillar. The procurement of auxiliary and support is also well
advanced from regional suppliers mainly located in Turkey

Gedabek - mining, detailed production and sales

The Company mined the following amounts and grades of ore in the nine months
to 30 September 2022:

 

                6 months to             3 months to              9 months to

                30 June 2022*           30 September 2022         30 September 2022
 Mine           Ore mined  Average      Ore mined   Average      Ore mined    Average

                           gold grade               gold grade                gold grade
                (tonnes)   (g/t)        (tonnes)    (g/t)        (tonnes)     (g/t)
 Open pit       910,541    0.50         360,730     0.36         1,277,271    0.46
 Gadir - u/g    67,007     1.43         33,452      1.39         100,459      1.42
 Gedabek - u/g  189,764    1.24         110,102     1.12         299,866      1.19
 Total          1,167,312  0.67         504,284     0.59         1,677,596    0.65

* There have been some minor changes to the previously reported figures
following the reconciliation of ore stockpiles.

 

The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by leaching for
FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

 

 Quarter ended      Ore processed                                                       Gold grade of ore processed
                    Heap leach pad crushed ore  Heap leach pad ROM  Agitation leaching  Heap leach pad crushed ore  Heap leach pad ROM  Agitation leaching

                    (tonnes)                    ore                 plant*              (g/t)                       ore                 plant*

                                                (tonnes)            (tonnes)                                        (g/t)               (g/t)
 31 March 2021      110,612                     258,097             154,373             0.90                        0.61                1.92
 30 June 2021       154,619                     177,369             164,288             0.81                        0.59                1.64
 30 September 2021  154,112                     194,816             171,029             0.79                        0.51                1.65
 31 December 2021   113,623                     309,374             151,701             0.68                        0.49                1.53
 FY 2021            532,966                     939,656             641,391             0.80                        0.54                1.68
 31 March 2022      115,173                     273,577             144,275             0.75                        0.48                1.63
 30 June 2022       82,814                       299,168            162,239             0.78                        0.53                1.4
 H1 2022            197,987                     572,745             306,514             0.76                        0.51                1.48
 30 September 2022  92,398                      302,714             162,669             0.81                        0.57                1.42

 

* includes previously heap leached ore.

 

The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained metal by
flotation for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

 

 Quarter ended      Ore processed  Gold content  Silver content  Copper content
                    (tonnes)       (ounces)      (ounces)        (tonnes)
 31 March 2021      111,060        920           15,782          652
 30 June 2021       116,910        1,251         23,870          596
 30 September 2021  121,283        1,231         19,939          519
 31 December 2021   129,384        1,856         28,480          762
 FY 2021            478,637        5,258         88,071          2,529
 31 March 2022      104,475        1,921         33,522          577
 30 June 2022       114,099        1,293         24,209          745
 H1 2022            218,574        3,214         57,731          1,322
 30 September 2022  150,867        1,314         18,141          724

 

The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for
FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

 

 Quarter ended      Gold produced*       Silver          Gold sales**  Gold Sales price

                    (ounces)             produced*       (ounces)      ($/ounce)

                                         (ounces)

 31 March 2021      11,541               4,916           5,635         1,697
 30 June 2021       11,789               5,921           13,947        1,808
 H1 2021            23,330               10,837          19,582        1,776
 30 September 2021  12,314               5,473           6,828         1,815
 31 December 2021   10,561               5,430           13,153        1,825
 H2 2021            22,875               10,903          19,981        1,821
 FY 2021            46,205               21,740          39,563        1,799
 31 March 2022      8,963                7,574           7,519         1,904
 30 June 2022       10,137               7,620           3,754         1,895
 H1 2022            19,100               15,194          11,273        1,901
 30 September 2022  10,473               6,949           10,000        1,727
 Note

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excluding Government of Azerbaijan's share

 

The gold and silver production from agitation and heap leaching for Q3 2022 is
as follows:

 

 Quarter        Gold                             Silver

 ended
                Agitation  Heap       Total      Agitation  Heap       Total

                leaching   leaching              leaching   leaching

                (ounces)   (ounces)   (ounces)   (ounces)   (ounces)   (ounces)
 31 March 2022  5,674      3,289      8,963      4,803      2,771      7,574
 30 June 2022   6,196      3,941      10,137     4,654      2,966      7,620
 H1 2022        11,870     7,230      19,100     9,457      5,737      15,194
 30 Sept 2022   5,517      4,956      10,473     3,673      3,276      6,949

 

The following table summarises copper concentrate production from both the
Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022:

 

                             Concentrate  Copper    Gold      Silver
                             production*  content*  content*  content*
                             (dmt)        (tonnes)  (ounces)  (ounces)
 2021
 Quarter ended 31 March
 SART processing             473          276       13        19,850
 Flotation                   2,375        362       353       10,599
 Total                       2,848        638       366       30,449

 Quarter ended 30 June
 SART processing             512          301       12        22,428
 Flotation                   2,652        394       539       15,216
 Total                       3,164        695       551       37,644

 Quarter ended 30 September
 SART processing             503          265       13        19,526
 Flotation                   2,600        308       517       11,913
 Total                       3,103        573       530       31,439

 Quarter ended 31 December
 SART processing             338          193       16        16,414
 Flotation                   3,584        550       1,012     16,829
 Total                       3,922        743       1,028     33,243

 2022
 Quarter ended 31 March
 SART processing             330          188       12        25,108
 Flotation                   2,586        380       1,065     18,007
 Total                       2,916        568       1,077     43,115
 Quarter ended 30 June
 SART processing             316          168       14        25,548
 Flotation                   3,811        547       715       15,642
 Total                       4,127        715       729       41,190
 Quarter ended 30 September
 SART processing             367          208       33        24,020
 Flotation                   2,805        401       581       14,094
 Total                       3,172        609       614       38,114

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 2021 and Q1 to Q3 2022. 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 2021      2,848        638       366       30,499    -            -
 30 June 2021       3,164        695       551       37,644    3,467        9,066
 H1 2021            6,012        1,333     917       68,143    3,467        9,066

 30 September 2021  3,103        573       530       31,439    3,549        5,712
 31 December 2021   3,922        743       1,028     33,243    4,132        8,941
 H2 2021            7,025        1,316     1,558     64,682    7,681        14,653
 FY 2021            13,037       2,649     2,475     132,825   11,148       23,719

 31 March 2022      2,916        568       1,077     43,115    1,477        3,248
 30 June 2022       4,127        715       729       41,190    4,642        8,127
 H2 2022            7,043        1,283     1,806     84,305    6,119        11,375
 30 September 2022  3,172        609       614       38,114    1,718        3,378

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

 

**ENDS**

 

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