REG - Anglo Asian Mining - Xarxar maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate

Anglo Asian MiningAnnouncement

20/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 6755D  Anglo Asian Mining PLC  20 February 2024

20 February 2024

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Xarxar maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate completed

25 million tonnes of copper mineralisation at average grades of 0.48 per cent.

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
completion of a maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate for its Xarxar
copper deposit (the "Xarxar Deposit"), confirming 24.9 million tonnes of
mineralisation with average grades of 0.48 per cent. copper.

Xarxar Deposit

·  24.9 million tonnes of mineralisation with average grades of 0.48 per
cent. copper

·  22.0 million tonnes of mineralisation containing 106,000 tonnes of
copper within the Measured plus Indicated JORC categories

·   Total in-situ mineral resource of 119,100 tonnes of copper

·   66 drill holes with a total length of 21,707 metres used for the maiden
Mineral Resource Estimate

·    A 470 metre exploration adit was excavated for underground drilling
and sampling

 

Stephen Westhead, Vice-President of Anglo Asian, commented:

"The maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for the Xarxar Deposit demonstrates
that this is a substantial resource, containing over 100,000 tonnes of copper.
We are confident that the Xarxar mine will be a significant contributor to our
future production, enabling the Company to deliver future growth and
attractive returns to shareholders.

 

"To further expand the current mineral resources estimate, work will include
surface infill drilling to the east of the deposit, deposit geotechnical and
hydrogeological drilling, and drilling to supply samples for further
metallurgical testwork. Additional core drill samples will also be subject to
external quality assurance and control. This will enable mineral resources to
be reclassified from Indicated to Measured in preparation for the full mining
study."

 

Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Xarxar Deposit at January 2024

Reporting cut-off >= 0.2 per cent. copper

 Mineral resources estimate for the Xarxar Deposit by oxidation domain -
 January 2024
 Domain                                                Indicated and inferred(i)

           Indicated             Inferred
           Tonnes  Grade  Metal  Tonnes  Grade  Metal  Tonnes     Grade      Metal

           (Mt)    (%)    (kt)   (Mt)    (%)    (kt)   (Mt)       (%)        (kt)
 Oxide     5.2     0.55   28.5   0.8     0.66   5.2    5.9        0.57       33.7
 Sulphide  16.8    0.46   77.9   2.1     0.35   7.6    18.9       0.45       85.5
 Total     22.0    0.48   106.3  2.9     0.44   12.8   24.9       0.48       119.1

(i) Note that Measured Resources were nil due to insufficient third-party
quality assurance and quality control ("QAQC") drill core assays being carried
out. Further QAQC drill core assays will be carried out.

Note that all tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes. Totals may not add due
to rounding.

 

The mineral resources estimate in the above table was prepared using a copper
selling price of $9,000 per tonne to determine the amount of copper under the
Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction ("RPEEE") criteria of
JORC.

 

Further details about the Xarxar Deposit, the mineral resource estimation and
the current work being carried out at Xarxar can be found below in Appendix
one.

 

Additional exploration potential of the Xarxar Deposit

In addition to the MRE stated above, Xarxar still has significant additional
exploration potential. The parameters of an open pit were also determined at a
copper selling price of $20,000 to calculate a "maximum" pit floor depth. This
maximum depth was used to define two zones, one above the calculated pit floor
level that may be minable by open pit mining (the "Upper Zone") and one below
this level, which may be accessible by underground mining (the "Lower Zone").
The range of increase in mineralisation in the Upper Zone and Lower Zone is
shown in the following table:

 

 Zone        Range
 Upper Zone  5.04Mt to 10.2Mt at 0.2% to 0.3% copper
 Lower Zone  0.5Mt to 9.71Mt at 0.3% to 0.6% copper

 

Interactive presentation on the Xarxar Deposit

An interactive 3-D presentation on the Xarxar Deposit including details of its
maiden JORC Mineral Resource is available at
https://xarxar-jorc-mre-2024feb.jalnext.com/
(https://xarxar-jorc-mre-2024feb.jalnext.com/) . This presentation also
includes various depictions of the local topography of the Xarxar Deposit,
details of drill holes, block and shell models and the location of the
exploration adit.

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

 

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/about-us/group-strategy/
(https://www.angloasianmining.com/about-us/group-strategy/)

 

Competent Person Statement

The information in the announcement that relates to exploration results and
Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Sean Lapham, who is a
full-time employee of Mining Plus UK Ltd with the position of Senior Geology
Consultant. Mr Lapham is a registered member of The Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy (AUSIMM number 318874) and the Geological Society of
London (Fellowship number 1030350).

 

Sean Lapham 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'. Sean Lapham consents to the inclusion in
the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and
context in which it appears.

 

Sean Lapham has extensive 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. Sean Lapham has reviewed the Mineral Resources included in this
announcement.

 

APPENDIX ONE

FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THE XARXAR DEPOSIT AND THE JORC (2012) MINERAL
RESOURCE ESTIMATE

 

Xarxar Deposit

The detailed JORC ('Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results,
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 Edition') "JORC" Mineral
Resource Estimate for the Xarxar Deposit has been published on the Company's
website and is available at:
https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2024/02/UPG12005-XARXAR_JORC_MRE_REPORT_FINAL.pdf
(https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2024/02/UPG12005-XARXAR_JORC_MRE_REPORT_FINAL.pdf)

The Table One report accompanying the JORC Mineral Resource Estimate is
available at:
https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2024/02/UPG12005-XARXAR_JORC_TABLE1_FINAL.pdf
(https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2024/02/UPG12005-XARXAR_JORC_TABLE1_FINAL.pdf)

The initial announcement about the Xarxar Deposit, dated 13 March 2023 -
"Significant copper mineralisation identified at Xarxar / Development of
Geological Block Model and Open Pit Mining Study are underway" which gives
the background to the Xarxar property and a subsequent announcement provides
information on the deposit potential; "Targeting 10,000 tonnes of annual
copper production at Xarxar following geological modelling and open pit
optimisation study" dated 16 March 2023 is available on the Company's website.

 

Current work at the Xarxar Deposit

Prior to the completion of this JORC Mineral Resources Estimate, the Company
announced on 25 January 2024 the results of its drilling programme and
identification of resource potential titled "Significant copper resource
confirmed at Xarxar" which is available on the Company's website.

 

Further infill and extension drilling is now being planned, along with a
metallurgical testwork programme and geometallurgical modelling. Technical
drilling will include programmes for geotechnical investigation,
hydrogeological studies and drilling to supply further metallurgical samples.

 

Further exploration targets adjacent to this deposit have been identified,
that will be subject to geological mapping, surface geological exploration and
follow-up drilling if results are positive.

 

A mining trade-off study including a mine design and a production plan will
also be prepared.

 

Xarxar mineral resources - supporting work and independent expert opinion

The Company contracted Mining Plus UK Ltd (Mining Plus) to estimate the
Mineral Resources of the Xarxar Deposit. This work incorporated all the data
from the most recent drilling campaign and was designed to increase resource
confidence in the deposit with the aim to convert the majority of mineralised
material to or above an Indicated classification under the JORC (2012) code,
together with the use of inclined holes to better understand the ore body
geometry.

 

APPENDIX TWO

GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

 

The following definitions are extracted from the JORC Code, 2012 Edition

 

 Indicated Mineral Resource        An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which
                                   quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape and physical characteristics
                                   are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying
                                   Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the
                                   economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from
                                   adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing gathered
                                   through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches,
                                   pits, workings and drill holes, and is sufficient to assume geological and
                                   grade (or quality) continuity between points of observation where data and
                                   samples are gathered. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of
                                   confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be
                                   converted to a Probable Ore Reserve.
 Inferred Mineral Resource         An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which
                                   quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited
                                   geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply
                                   but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on
                                   exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate
                                   techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill
                                   holes. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that
                                   applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to an Ore
                                   Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral
                                   Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued
                                   exploration.
 JORC                              JORC stands for Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC). The Code
                                   for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the
                                   JORC Code) is widely accepted as the definitive standard for the reporting of
                                   a company's resources and reserves. The latest JORC Code is the 2012
                                   Edition.
 Measured Mineral Resource         A 'Measured Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which
                                   quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape, and physical characteristics
                                   are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying
                                   Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic
                                   viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and
                                   reliable exploration, sampling and testing gathered through appropriate
                                   techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill
                                   holes, and is sufficient to confirm geological and grade (or quality)
                                   continuity between points of observation where data and samples are gathered.
                                   A Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than that
                                   applying to either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral
                                   Resource. It may be converted to a Proved Ore Reserve or under certain
                                   circumstances to a Probable Ore Reserve
 Mineral Reserves or Ore Reserves  An 'Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or

                                 Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for
                                   losses, which may occur when the material is mined or extracted and is defined
                                   by studies at Pre-Feasibility or Feasibility level as appropriate that include
                                   application of Modifying Factors. Such studies demonstrate that, at the time
                                   of reporting, extraction could reasonably be justified.
 Mineral Resource                  A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of solid material of
                                   economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade (or quality),
                                   and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic
                                   extraction. The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other
                                   geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or
                                   interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including
                                   sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological
                                   confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

 

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