Further Gold Doré Shipment & Operations Continue

RNS Number : 9525I

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

07 April 2020

 

7 April 2020

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Further shipment of gold doré made to MKS Finance SA

Company's operations in Azerbaijan continue

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan is very pleased to announce that it has made a further shipment of gold doré containing 4,688 ounces of gold to MKS Finance SA ("MKS"). This is further to the Company's announcement on 26 March 2020 where Anglo Asian stated that due to the cessation of scheduled air flights, it was looking at other logistical options for the shipment and sale of gold doré.

Highlights

· Gold doré containing 4,688 ounces of gold has been successfully shipped to MKS in Switzerland by air-charter

· Advance sale proceeds received of approximately 90 per cent. of the Company's share

· Swiss gold refiners announce they expect to shortly resume limited operations

· Discussions with two alternative refiners have also commenced

· Company continues to ship copper concentrate by road

· Company's operations in Azerbaijan continue - safety of staff is paramount

 Reza Vaziri, CEO of Anglo Asian commented: "I am delighted that the Company has successfully delivered a further consignment of gold doré to MKS Finance SA, Switzerland by air-charter. This shipment amply demonstrates the Company's agility despite the operational problems presented by Covid-19. It is also testament to the ability of the operational team in Azerbaijan, who worked tirelessly to overcome the logistical issues under difficult circumstances, and allows us to stay within our planned objectives for the year.

"The Swiss refiners have recently announced that they expect to shortly resume limited working and we are currently ascertaining when we can commence further shipments."

Update on shipment and operations

The Company is currently unable to ship gold doré by scheduled air flight out of Azerbaijan due to the current cessation of all scheduled air traffic in and out of the Country. However, the Company was recently able to charter an aircraft and shipped a consignment of gold doré to MKS in Switzerland.

Under the terms of its contract with MKS, the Company can elect to receive prior to refining, 90 per cent. (net of the Azerbaijan Government share of 12.75 per cent.) of the estimated gold content of the gold doré upon arrival at MKS. Such a sale is classified as an advance payment of sale proceeds and is settled by physical delivery of the gold bullion once it is refined.

The Swiss gold refiners have announced that they will shortly resume limited working and the Company is currently ascertaining when it can resume shipping gold doré and making sales of gold bullion. The Company is also in discussion with two other refiners in its region to provide an alternative channel for the refining and sale of its gold and silver bullion.

The Company's operations at Gedabek continue and its efforts to ensure the safety of all staff are paramount. The Company has now put in place various stringent measures to ensure all staff are isolated as far as practical from all sources of infection. A further update on operations will be provided in the quarter one production update in mid-April 2020.

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 until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit or contact:

Reza Vaziri	Anglo Asian Mining plc	Tel: [phone]
Bill Morgan	Anglo Asian Mining plc	Tel: [phone]
Stephen Westhead	Anglo Asian Mining plc	Tel: [phone]
Ewan Leggat	SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel: [phone]
Soltan Tagiev	SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel + 44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Camilla Horsfall	Blytheweigh Financial	Tel: + 44(0) 20 7138 3224
Megan Ray	Blytheweigh Financial	Tel: + 44(0) 20 7138 3224

Notes:

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 has a 1,962 square kilometre portfolio, assembled from analysis of historic Soviet geological data and held under a Production Sharing Agreement modelled on the Azeri oil industry.

The Company's main operating location is the Gedabek contract area ("Gedabek") which is a 300 square kilometre area in the Lesser Caucasus mountains in western Azerbaijan. The Company developed Azerbaijan's first operating gold/copper/silver mine at Gedabek which commenced gold production in May 2009.  Mining at Gedabek was initially from its main open pit which is an open cast mine with a series of interconnected pits. The Company also operates the high grade Gadir underground mine which is co-located at the Gedabek site. In September 2017, production commenced at the Ugur open pit mine, a recently discovered gold ore deposit at Gedabek. The Company has a second underground mine, Gosha, which is 50 kilometres from Gedabek. Ore mined at Gosha is processed at Anglo Asian's Gedabek plant.

The Company produced 81,399 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2019. Gedabek is a polymetallic ore deposit that has gold together with significant concentrations of copper in the main open pit mine, and an oxide gold-rich zone at Ugur. The Company therefore employs a series of flexible processing routes to optimise metal recoveries and efficiencies.  The Company produces gold doré through agitation and heap leaching operations, copper concentrate from its Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening (SART) plant and also a copper and precious metal concentrate from its flotation plant.

Anglo Asian is also actively seeking to exploit its first mover advantage in Azerbaijan to identify additional projects, as well as looking for other properties in order to fulfil its expansion ambitions and become a mid-tier gold and copper metal production company.

 

END

 

 

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