TIDMAAZ
RNS Number : 7474M
Anglo Asian Mining PLC
16 January 2023
16 January 2023
Anglo Asian Mining plc
Q4 and FY 2022 Production and Operations review
FY 2022 production of 57,618 gold equivalent ounces at the top
end of guidance
Year-end cash of $20.3 million
Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the
AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer primarily operating in
Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide an operational and production
review for the fourth quarter ("Q4 2022") and twelve months to 31
December 2022 ("FY 2022").
Production
-- Total FY 2022 production of 57,618 gold equivalent ounces
("GEOs"), at top end of the 54,000 to 58,000 GEOs guidance (FY
2021: 64,610 GEOs)
-- Q4 2022 production of 14,532 GEOs (Q4 2021: 15,949 GEOs)
Operations
-- Significant progress made at Zafar, with a number of developments including
o Portal construction commenced
o Mine design almost finalised
o Underground mining fleet and ancillary equipment ordered
-- Flotation plant expansion underway, which will double the
processing capacity of the existing flotation plant and provide
additional operational flexibility
o Equipment ordered for an additional flotation line to produce
a zinc concentrate
o This expansion forms part of the Company's increase in
throughput capacity in the short and medium term
-- Mine development at Gilar is well underway
o Preliminary mineral resource published, yielding very
encouraging results
o Construction of an exploration / development decline into the
ore body has started, while targeted surface drilling continues
-- Exploration of XarXar is ramping up
o Tunnelling into the mineral zone continues
o Surface drilling continues
Cash and inventory
-- Cash of $20.3 million at 31 December 2022 (30 September 2022:
$15.3 million), with the following significant payments made during
Q4 2022:
o 2022 interim dividend of $4.6 million
o Initial payment for Zafar underground mining fleet of $0.5
million
-- Inventory (at market value) of $3.6 million at 31 December
2022 (gold and silver bullion of $2.5 million and copper
concentrate of $1.1 million)
Post-year end, the Company made its third investment in Libero
Copper & Gold of CAN$390,000 (US$289,00) to maintain its 19.8
per cent. shareholding.
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented: "I am very pleased to
report another important quarter and year for Anglo Asian. We have
made significant progress at a number of assets, namely Zafar,
Gilar and XarXar, which will be critical to providing production in
the near-term. The expansion of our flotation plant will also
provide significant operational flexibility as we ramp up
production in the medium-term.
Following the acquisition of three new contract areas in
mid-2021, the Company has been formulating a strategy to transition
into a mid-tier, copper-focused miner, accelerating our production
with the intention of capitalising on the global decarbonisation
agenda. This strategy is within the final stages of its
development, and I look forward to updating the market on this
during Q1 2023."
Note that all references to "$" are to United States dollars and
"CAN$" are to Canadian dollars. An exchange rate of US$1 = CAN$1.35
has been used throughout.
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
Tel: +994 12 596
Reza Vaziri, Chief Executive Officer 3350
Tel: +994 502 910
Bill Morgan, Chief Financial Officer 400
Tel: +994 502 916
Stephen Westhead, Vice President 894
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Tel: +44 (0) 20
Adviser and Broker) 3470 0470
Ewan Leggat
Adam Cowl
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR) Tel: +44 0) 20 7796
Charlie Jack 4133
Harry Griffiths
Notes to editors
Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer
in south-west Asia with a broad portfolio of production and
exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company produced 57,618 gold
equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2022.
In December 2021, the Company undertook a private placement
which acquired 19.8 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. Two further follow-on investments have
been made in Libero to maintain the Company's shareholding at 19.8
per cent.
On 5 July 2022, the Parliament of Azerbaijan ratified amendments
to the Company's Production Sharing Agreement, which granted it
legal title to three additional concessions with a combined area of
882 square kilometres, including the Garadagh porphyry copper
deposit, with a Soviet classified resource of over 300,000 tonnes
of copper. https://www.angloasianmining.com/
Production and sales overview
Q4 2022 production
-- Total production of 14,532 GEOs (Q4 2021: 15,949 GEOs), comprising of:
o 11,121 ounces of gold (Q4 2021: 11,589 ounces):
-- 10,437 ounces contained within gold doré
-- 39 ounces from sulfidisation, acidification, recycling and
thickening ("SART") processing
-- 645 ounces from flotation processing
o 624 tonnes of copper (Q4 2021: 743 tonnes):
-- 244 tonnes from SART processing
-- 380 tonnes from flotation processing
o 37,378 ounces of silver (Q4 2021: 38,673 ounces):
-- 4,820 ounces contained within gold doré
-- 20,833 ounces from SART processing
-- 11,725 ounces from flotation processing
FY 2022 production
-- Total production of 57,618 GEOs (FY 2021: 64,610 GEOs), including:
o 43,114 ounces of gold (FY 2021: 48,680 ounces)
o 2,516 tonnes of copper (FY 2021: 2,649 tonnes)
o 182,046 ounces of silver (FY 2021: 154,515 ounces)
Q4 2022 Sales
-- Q4 2022 gold bullion sales of 13,645 ounces at an average of
$1,727 per ounce (Q4 2021: 13,153 ounces sold at an average of
$1,825 per ounce)
-- Q4 2022 copper concentrate shipments totalled 4,606 dry
metric tonnes ("dmt") with a sales value of $7.5 million (excluding
Government of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q4 2021: 4,132 dmt with a
sales value of $8.9 million)
Gedabek - mining, detailed production and sales
The Company mined the following amounts and grades of ore in the
12 months to 31 December 2022:
9 months to 3 months to 12 months to
30 September 2022 31 December 2022 31 December 2022
Average Average Average
gold gold gold
Mine Ore mined grade Ore mined grade Ore mined grade
(tonnes) (g/t) (tonnes) (g/t) (tonnes) (g/t)
----------- -------- ---------- -------- ---------- --------
Open pit 1,276,286 0.46 429,051 0.51 1,705,337 0.47
Gadir - u/g 100,459 1.42 36,256 1.39 136,715 1.41
Gedabek -
u/g 299,866 1.33 74,049 1.18 373,915 1.30
----------- -------- ---------- -------- ---------- --------
Total 1,676,611 0.67 539,356 0.66 2,215,967 0.67
------------- ----------- -------- ---------- -------- ---------- --------
The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by
leaching for FY 2021 and 2022:
Quarter ended Ore processed Gold grade of ore processed
------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Heap Heap Heap Heap
leach leach Agitation leach leach Agitation
pad crushed pad ROM leaching pad crushed pad ROM leaching
ore ore plant* ore ore plant*
(tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (g/t) (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 82,814 299,762 162,239 0.78 0.53 1.40
30 September
2022 92,398 302,714 162,669 0.81 0.57 1.42
31 December 2022 24,606 213,120 156,285 0.72 0.56 1.42
------------------ ------------- ---------- ---------- ------------- --------- ----------
FY 2022 314,991 1,089,173 625,468 0.77 0.56 1.43
------------------ ------------- ---------- ---------- ------------- --------- ----------
* includes previously heap leached ore.
The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained
metal by flotation for FY 2021 and 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
30 September
2022 143,838 1,314 24,582 724
31 December 2022 119,819 1,389 18,003 670
-------------- ------------- --------------- ---------------
FY 2022 482,231 5,917 100,316 2,716
-------------- ------------- --------------- ---------------
The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at
Gedabek for FY 2021 and 2022:
Quarter ended Gold produced* Silver Gold sales** Gold Sales
(ounces) produced* (ounces) price
(ounces) ($/ounce)
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
31 December
2022 10,437 4,820 13,645 1,727
------------------ ------------- ------------- ---------------
H2 2022 20,910 11,769 23,645 1,727
------------------ ------------- ------------- ---------------
FY 2022 40,010 26,963 34,918 1,783
-------------- ------------------ ------------- ------------- ---------------
Note
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share
** excluding Government of Azerbaijan's share
The gold and silver production from agitation and heap leaching
for FY 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
31 Dec 2022 5,831 4,606 10,437 2,684 2,136 4,820
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
H2 2022 11,348 9,562 20,910 6,357 5,412 11,769
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
FY 2022 23,218 16,792 40,010 15,814 11,139 26,963
--------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
The following table summarises copper concentrate production
from both the Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY
2021 and 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 25,114
Flotation 2,586 380 1,065 17,986
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Total 2,916 568 1,077 43,100
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Quarter ended 30 June
SART processing 316 168 14 25,582
Flotation 3,811 547 715 15,672
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Total 4,127 715 729 41,254
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Quarter ended 30 September
SART processing 367 208 33 24,077
Flotation 2,805 401 581 14,094
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Total 3,172 609 614 38,171
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Quarter ended 31 December
SART processing 438 244 39 20,833
Flotation 2,648 380 645 11,725
------------ --------- --------- ---------
Total 3,086 624 684 32,558
------------ --------- --------- ---------
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 2022. Note that sales of
concentrates are initially recorded as 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 30,449 - -
30 June 2021 3,164 695 551 37,644 3,467 9,066
------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
H1 2021 6,012 1,333 917 68,093 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 2,475 132,775 11,148 23,719
--------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
31 March 2022 2,916 568 1,077 43,100 1,477 3,248
30 June 2022 4,127 715 729 41,254 4,642 8,127
------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
H1 2022 7,043 1,283 1,806 84,354 6,119 11,375
--------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
30 September
2022 3,172 609 614 38,171 1,718 3,378
31 December
2022 3,086 624 684 32,558 4,606 7,487
------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
H2 2022 6,258 1,233 1,298 70,729 6,324 10,865
------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
FY 2022 13,301 2,516 3,104 155,083 12,443 22,240
--------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------ --------------
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share
** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share
**ENDS**
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