Garadag Maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

24 September 2024

 

24 September 2024

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate confirms over 300,000 tonnes of copper (Indicated category) at Garadag

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 an independent maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate for its Garadag copper deposit (the "Garadag Deposit") completed by Mining Plus UK, confirming a total resource (Indicated and Inferred categories) of approximately 900,000 tonnes of copper metal hosted in 285 million tonnes of mineralisation with average grades of 0.32 per cent. copper.

Highlights:

·    Total in-situ mineral resource of 284.9 million tonnes of mineralisation at average grades of 0.32 per cent. copper

o 86.9 million tonnes of mineralisation containing 304,300 tonnes of copper within the Indicated JORC category

o 198.0 million tonnes of mineralisation containing 592,600 tonnes of copper within the Inferred JORC category

·    Total in-situ mineral resource of 896,900 tonnes of copper

·    Maiden mineral resources estimate based on 113 third-party drill holes totalling 25,620 metres

·    Company work programme in place to upgrade mineral resources and assess mineralisation potential at depth and along strike

Further work at the Garadag Deposit and reclassification of mineral resources

To improve and upgrade the current mineral resource estimate, the Company is undertaking a further work programme. This work programme will include the following:

·    Improving the definition of the mineralisation zones and improving the modelling of alteration zones

·    Planning an infill and extensional drill programme

·    Analysing 26 core legacy holes drilled by AzerGold Closed Joint Stock Company ("AzerGold") which have not been assayed

·    Resampling of the pulps from inherited drill holes

·    Exploration to assess further mineral potential as the Garadag Deposit is open at depth and along strike

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

"We are pleased to announce that this independent mineral resource estimate completed by Mining Plus confirms the large amount of copper and significant potential of the Garadag deposit, with a total resource of 284.9 million tonnes of mineralisation at 0.32 per cent. copper grades, hosting nearly 900,000 tonnes of copper metal. We look forward to further studying the deposit to increase the mineral resource and its categories and formalise our planning processes to commence production. The copper contribution from Garadag will be significant in the delivery of Anglo Asian's strategic growth plan to become a multi-asset, mid-tier primarily copper producer."

Mineral Resource Estimate for the Garadag Deposit by domain at July 2024

Domain	Cut-off	Indicated			Inferred			Indicated and inferred
		Tonnes (Mt)	Grade (Cu %)	Metal (kt)	Tonnes (Mt)	Grade (Cu %)	Metal (kt)	Tonnes (Mt)	Grade (Cu %)	Metal (kt)
0 (un-mineralised)	0.13%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1 (leach)	0.13%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3 (enriched)	0.13%	45.8	0.45	205.6	68.9	0.42	285.9	114.7	0.43	491.5
5 (primary)	0.13%	41.1	0.24	98.7	129.1	0.24	306.7	170.2	0.24	405.4
Total		86.9	0.35	304.3	198	0.30	592.6	284.9	0.32	896.9

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

The mineral resource 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 Garadag Deposit, the mineral resource estimate, and the current work being carried out at Garadag can be found below in Appendix One.

Interactive presentation on the Garadag Deposit

An interactive 3-D presentation of the Garadag Deposit, including details of its maiden JORC Mineral Resource, is available at https://garadag-jorc-mre-2024sep.jalnext.com/. This presentation also includes various depictions of the local topography of the Garadag 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: [phone]
Bill Morgan, Chief Financial Officer	Tel: [phone]
Stephen Westhead, Vice President	Tel: [phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Ewan Leggat Adam Cowl	Tel: [phone]
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR) Charlie Jack Harry Griffiths	Tel: [phone]

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 annual 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/

Competent Person Statement

The information in the announcement that relates to exploration results and Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Maria del Carmen Muñoz Lizarve ("Ms Maria"), who is a full-time employee of Mining Plus and has acted as an independent consultant on the Garadag Mineral Resource estimation. Ms Maria is a registered member of The Australasian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG number 7570) and the Peruvian College of Engineers (Licence number 115281).

Ms Maria 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'. Ms Maria consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on her information in the form and context in which it appears.

Ms Maria has extensive experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that she is undertaking, to qualify as a "competent person" as defined by the AIM rules. Ms Maria has reviewed the Mineral Resources included in this announcement.

APPENDIX ONE

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

Garadag Deposit

The detailed JORC ('Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 Edition') "JORC" Mineral Resource Estimate with the accompanying Table 1 as an appendix for the Garadag Deposit has been published on the Company's website and is available at:

https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2024/09/Garadag_JORC_FINAL.pdf

Garadag mineral resources - supporting work and independent expert opinion

The Company contracted Mining Plus UK Ltd (Mining Plus) to estimate the Mineral Resources of the Garadag Deposit. This work incorporated all the historic data that was acquired about the Garadag Deposit that was compiled by its previous owners.

About the Garadag Deposit

The Garadag mineralisation is copper dominant and comprises oxides in the upper portion, and sulphides at depth. The primary sulphide mineral is chalcopyrite. The enrichment zone minerals are chalcocite, covellite and bornite. The main oxide minerals are comprised of malachite, azurite and rarely neotocite. The oxide zone is not well developed at Garadag and the current understanding is that it forms a very minor part of the mineralisation stratigraphy.

The main copper mineralisation lenses are located in the central portion of the Garadag deposit, with approximate east to west orientations.

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.

 

END