REG - Anglo Asian Mining - Q4 and FY 2024 Production and Operations Review

Anglo Asian MiningAnnouncement

16/01/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 5006T  Anglo Asian Mining PLC  16 January 2025

 

16 January 2025

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Q4 and FY 2024 Production and Operations Review

FY 2024 Production of 16,760 gold equivalent ounces in line with guidance

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold,
copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, provides the following
production, sales and operational review for the three months to 31 December
2024 ("Q4 2024" or the "Quarter") and the twelve months to 31 December 2024
("FY 2024").

Production update

·   Total FY 2024 production of 16,760 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") (FY
2023: 31,821 GEOs)

·    Production in line with previously issued guidance of 15,000 to
19,500 GEOs

·    Q4 2024 production of 8,450 GEOs (Q3 2024: 3,080 GEOs)

o Substantial increase compared to the previous quarter following resumption
of full processing at Gedabek

Operational highlights

·  Full production restarted with both agitation leaching and flotation
processing now operating at their design capacity at Gedabek

·  Development of the new Gilar underground mine is progressing well with
the first development ore expected to be extracted in Q1 2025

·    Access now granted to the Demirli property

o Drilling completed to determine the start-up resource size

o All aspects of the property are being evaluated with the aim of restarting
the plant

·    The Group anticipates issuing production guidance for the full year
2025 during Q1 2025

Q4 2024 Sales, inventory and cash update

·   Total gold bullion sales of 6,031 ounces at an average price of $2,655
per ounce (Q4 2023: 2,416 ounces at an average price of $2,004 per ounce)

·    Copper concentrate shipments totalled 1,173 dry metric tonnes ("dmt")
with a sales value of $1.5 million (excluding Government of Azerbaijan profit
share) (Q4 2023: 2,186 dmt with a sales value of $2.3 million)

·    Positive free cash flow in H2 2024 of $1.1 million

·    Substantial increases in metal prices during last year should
considerably benefit the future revenue generated from the delayed production

·  Careful management of the balance sheet during FY 2024, to mitigate the
partially suspended production during 2024, resulted in net debt only
increasing by $4.6 million during the year

o Net debt of $14.8 million at 31 December 2024 (30 September 2024: $14.0
million)

·    $3.0 million advance from Trafigura repaid in December 2024

·    Inventory valued at $4.0 million at 31 December 2024 (30 September
2024: $2.7 million)

Reza Vaziri, CEO of Anglo Asian, commented:

"I am pleased to report on another significant quarter for Anglo Asian Mining
as we return to regular rates of production following the partial suspension.
We are also pleased to have achieved full year production in line with
guidance, as we successfully resumed normal operations for our agitation
leaching and flotation processing plants at Gedabek. Importantly, we only
increased our net debt by $4.6 million during 2024, despite the considerable
financial impact of the partial suspension of production.

"Looking ahead to this year, we are focused on delivering rates of production
in line with our growth strategy, returning to a regular output at our
operating mines and continuing the important progress in our portfolio of
assets under development. I am particularly encouraged by the progress at
Gilar, where we anticipate first ore extraction later this first quarter, and
at Demirli where multiple investigations are underway, with a view to
restarting production. Drilling has now also confirmed a sufficient start-up
resource for Demirli. I look forward to providing further updates on our
progress in the coming months."

Note that all references to "$" are to United States dollars.

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:

 

 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

 Kristina Gaysina

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 31,821 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year
ended 31 December 2023.

 

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.

 

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

 

Q4 2024 production

·    Gold production of 7,413 ounces (Q4 2023: 2,979 ounces):

o 7,280 ounces contained within gold doré

§ 5,231 ounces from agitation leaching

§ 2,049 ounces from heap leaching

o 131 ounces from flotation

o 2 ounces from sulphidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening
("SART") processing

·    Copper production of 266 tonnes (Q4 2023: 18 tonnes)

o 249 tonnes from flotation processing (Q4 2023: nil tonnes)

o 17 tonnes from SART processing (Q4 2023: 18 tonnes)

·    Silver production totalled 12,197 ounces (Q4 2023: 2,874 ounces):

o 6,984 ounces contained within gold doré

§ 5,006 ounces from agitation leaching

§ 1,978 ounces from heap leaching

o 1,664 ounces from flotation processing

o 3,549 ounces from SART processing

 

FY 2024 production

·    Total FY 2024 production of 16,760 GEOs (FY 2023: 31,821 GEOs)

o Copper production of 377 tonnes (FY 2023: 2,138 tonnes)

o Gold production of 15,073 ounces (FY 2023: 21,758 ounces)

o Silver production of 28,258 ounces (FY 2023: 53,226 ounces)

 

Q4 2024 Sales overview

·    Total gold bullion sales of 6,031 ounces at an average price of
$2,655 per ounce (Q4 2023: 2,416 ounces at an average price of $2,004 per
ounce)

·    Q4 2024 copper concentrate shipments totalled 1,173 dry metric tonnes
("dmt") with a sales value of $1.5 million (excluding Government
of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q4 2023: 2,186 dmt with a sales value of $2.3
million)

 

Q4 2024 Financials overview

·    Cash of $6.7 million ($8.1 million at 30 September 2024) including
restricted cash

·    Debt of $21.5 million ($22.1 million at 30 September 2024)

·    Net debt of $14.8 million ($14.0 million at 30 September 2024)

·    Unsold gold doré and copper concentrate inventory of $4.0 million at
31 December 2024 ($2.7 million at 30 September 2024)

 

Gedabek - mining, detailed production and sales

The Company mined the following ore during FY 2023 and FY 2024:

 

                12 months to             9 months to              3 months to

                 31 December 2023        30 September 2024        31 December 2024
 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       1,180,695   0.38         300,125     0.77         143,486    0.65
 Gadir - u/g    109,320     1.64         125,310     1.60         41,811     1.53
 Gedabek - u/g  -           -            -           -            -          -
 Total          1,290,015   0.49         425,435     1.01         185,297    0.30

 

The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by leaching for
FY 2023 and FY 2024:

 

 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 2023      94,518                      196,595             62,006              0.74                        0.49                1.30
 30 June 2023       56,522                      202,788             105,213             0.75                        0.46                1.40
 30 September 2023  25,690                      34,621              -                   0.83                        0.45                -
 31 December 2023   -                           -                   -                   -                           -                   -
 FY 2023            176,730                     434,004             167,219             0.76                        0.48                1.40
 31 March 2024      120,528                     -                   -                   0.68                        -                   -
 30 June 2024       110,225                     9,698               -                   0.59                        0.52                -
 30 September 2024   110,152                    -                   18,009              0.65                        -                   1.93
 31 December 2024   79,835                      -                   128,387             0.53                        -                   1.54
 FY 2024            420,740                     9,698               146,396             0.61                        0.52                1.58

 

* includes previously heap leached ore.

 

The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained metal by
flotation for FY 2023 and FY 2024:

 Quarter ended      Ore processed  Gold content  Silver content  Copper content
                    (tonnes)       (ounces)      (ounces)        (tonnes)
 31 March 2023      192,516        1,487         19,787          1,133
 30 June 2023       190,593        1,033         10,380          1,191
 30 September 2023  62,369         478           4,358           363
 31 December 2023   -              -             -               -
 FY 2023            445,478        2,998         34,525          2,687
 31 March 2024      -              -             -               -
 30 June 2024       -              -             -               -
 30 September 2024  -              -             -               -
 31 December 2024   73,990         285           -               363
 FY 2024            73,990         285           3,985           363

 

 

The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for
FY 2023 and FY 2024:

 

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

                                    produced*

                    (ounces)        (ounces)    (ounces)      ($/ounce)
 31 March 2023      5,965           2,841       5,719         1,895
 30 June 2023       7,375           3,593       4,787         1,992
 30 September 2023  4,001           1,488       2,900         1,949
 31 December 2023   2,975           1,610       2,416         2,004
 FY 2023            20,316          9,532       15,822        1,951
 31 March 2024      2,259           1,512       3,925         2,080
 30 June 2024       2,433           1,532       2,075         2,350
 30 September 2024  2,955           1,979       3,220         2,497
 31 December 2024   7,280           6,984       6,031         2,655
 FY 2024            14,927          12,007      15,251        2,432

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excluding Government of Azerbaijan's share

 

The gold and silver production from agitation and heap leaching for FY 2023
and FY 2024 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 2023  2,105      3,860      5,965      1,077      1,764      2,841
 30 June 2023   3,463      3,912      7,375      1,735      1,858      3,593
 30 Sept 2023   -          4,001      4,001      -          1,488      1,488
 31 Dec 2023    -          2,975      2,975      -          1,610      1,610
 FY 2023        5,568      14,748     20,316     2,812      6,720      9,532
 31 March 2024  -          2,259      2,259      -          1,512      1,512
 30 June 2024   -          2,433      2,433      -          1,532      1,532
 30 Sept 2024   606        2,349      2,955      415        1,564      1,979
 31 Dec 2024    5,231      2,049      7,280      5,006      1,978      6,984
 FY 2024        5,837      9,090      14,927     5,421      6,586      12,007

 

The following table summarises copper concentrate production from both the
Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2023 and FY 2024:

 

                             Concentrate  Copper    Gold      Silver
                             production*  content*  content*  content*
                             (dmt)        (tonnes)  (ounces)  (ounces)
 2023
 Quarter ended 31 March
 SART processing             364          191       26        8,750
 Flotation                   4,544        665       762       11,095
 Total                       4,908        856       788       19,845
 Quarter ended 30 June
 SART processing             272          145       16        10,316
 Flotation                   5,613        869       479       8,101
 Total                       5,885        1,014     495       18,417
 Quarter ended 30 September
 SART processing             85           43        4         2,194
 Flotation                   1,316        207       151       1,974
 Total                       1,401        250       155       4,168
 Quarter ended 31 December
 SART processing             29           18        4         1,264
 Flotation                   -            -         -         -
 Total                       29           18        4         1,264
 2024
 Quarter ended 31 March
 SART processing             89           54        7         4,893
 Flotation                   -            -         -         -
 Total                       89           54        7         4,893
 Quarter ended 30 June
 SART processing             77           46        5         4,809
 Flotation                   -            -         -         -
 Total                       77           46        5         4,809
 Quarter ended 30 September
 SART processing             19           11        1         1,336
 Flotation                   -            -         -         -
 Total                       19           11        1         1,336
 Quarter ended 31 December
 SART processing             34           17        2         3,549
 Flotation                   1,638        249       131       1,664
 Total                       1,672        266       133       5,213

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share.

Note that 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 2023 and FY 2024. 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 2023      4,908        856       788       19,845    1,147        2,743
 30 June 2023       5,885        1,014     495       18,417    5,501        7,678
 30 September 2023  1,401        250       155       4,168     2,358        3,066
 31 December 2023   29           18        4         1,264     2,186        2,306
 FY 2023            12,223       2,138     1,442     43,694    11,192       15,793
 31 March 2024      89           54        7         4,893     71           295
 30 June 2024       77           46        5         4,809     260          1,002
 30 September 2024  19           11        1         1,336     -            -
 31 December 2024   1,672        266       133       5,213     1,173        1,493
 FY 2024            1,857        377       146       16,251    1,504        2,790

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

 

FY 2024 Financial review

The Company's net debt increased from $10.2 million at 1 January 2024 to $14.8
million at 31 December 2024 as follows:

 

                        H1 2024*        H2 2024*
                        $m      $m      $m      $m
 1 Jan / 1 July 2024            (10.2)          (12.0)
 Revenue                14.6            25.9
 VAT refund             1.9             0.8
 Interest income        0.2             0.1
 Operating costs        (19.2)          (24.7)
 Capital expenditure    (1.5)           (1.0)
 Debt servicing         (0.8)           (0.9)
 Trafigura advance**    3.0             (3.0)
 Outflow in the period          (1.8)           (2.8)
 30 June / 31 Dec 2024          (12.0)          (14.8)

 

*  the individual line items within the cash flow above are calculated on a
cash basis and not an accruals basis. They will therefore not agree to the
Group's published accounts.

** the $3.0 million advance from Trafigura has been treated as a prepayment
and not included in net debt at 30 June 2024. It was repaid in December 2024.

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