New Copper and Gold Discovery at Gedabek

RNS Number : 0873M

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

19 January 2021

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

19 January 2021

Anglo Asian Mining plc

New Copper and Gold Discovery at its Gedabek Licence Area

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, is pleased to announce a new copper-gold discovery, "Zafer", within the central region of its Gedabek Contract Area ("Gedabek CA") in western Azerbaijan.

This discovery resulted from a regional exploration field mapping programme following the identification of structural trends by the ZTEM geophysics programme.  A short report on Zafer can be found at the following link  http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0873M_1-2021-1-18.pdf and on the Company's website (www.angloasianmining.com).

Highlights

· Copper-gold mineral occurrence discovered approximately 1.5 kilometres northwest of the Company's Gedabek processing plant

· Discoveries made through follow-up of field mapping associated with three ZTEM targets

· Significant drill hole intersection of copper-gold mineralisation - 113 metres at 0.5 per cent. copper and 0.7 grammes per tonne gold

· Maximum grades within all drill holes to date of up to 6.0 per cent. copper, 14.6 per cent. zinc and 12.4 grammes per tonne gold

· Initial phase of core drilling has commenced, which has provided significant mineralised intersections

· Ground-based geophysics carried out to target drill programme

Reza Vaziri, CEO and President, commented:   "We are delighted to report the discovery of Zafer, an exciting mineral occurrence within the Gedabek contract area. This discovery demonstrates our belief in the on-going potential of the Gedabek contract area and the effectiveness of our geological exploration programme.

  "The Company is undertaking the work necessary to produce JORC estimates for the new discovery and to determine the best way to commercially exploit the mineral occurrence. I look forward to updating shareholders on our progress."

Stephen Westhead, Director of Geology and Mining, commented: "Zafer is a high priority target resulting from the ZTEM airborne geophysics programme which identified three anomalies at varying depths, including one porphyry.

"Initial drilling is focused on areas identified by geological mapping, geophysics data and the structural geology, and 12 drill holes have been completed with a total length of 7,675 metres. 10 profile lines totalling nearly 25 kilometres were also completed using ground-based induced polarisation electrical geophysics. This work identified three mineralised zones within an elongated structure. The most significant downhole intercept is 113 metres at 0.5 per cent. copper and 0.7 grammes per tonne of gold. This thickness and style of mineralisation is consistent with porphyry-type mineralisation.

"The geological team at Gedabek continue to evaluate the continuity of mineralisation within the deposit to develop resources for future economic evaluation. The identification of this zone is exciting as extensions along strike also intersect other targets, thus providing a potentially significant mineral resource. "

Zafer - Background, drilling and geophysics

Anglo Asian's in-house exploration group has defined a new mineral occurrence named Zafer, approximately 1.5 kilometres northwest of the Company's Gedabek processing facilities. The mineral occurrence was identified by geological exploration follow-up of field mapping between ZTEM targets. Geological, structural and alteration mapping was used to target the initial drilling, which commenced in August 2020. A series of drill holes demonstrated that the geology progressively moved from altered rock into weakly mineralised rocks and finally into the zone of significant mineralisation. 

Once the scale of the potential mineralisation was understood, ground-based Induced Polarisation ("IP") and resistivity electrical geophysics was employed to define the potential extent of the mineralisation. In total, 10 profile lines covering a total length of nearly 25 kilometres were completed. The 2-D and 3-D interpretations resulted in the identification of a number of "hot spot" anomalies that will be followed up with further drilling.

The geology of the area comprises Upper Bajocian aged volcanics and is structurally complex. The mineralisation seems to be associated with a main northwest - southeast trending structure, which is interpreted as post-dating smaller northeast - southwest structures. In the southwest area, outcrops with tourmaline have been mapped, which are indicative of the potential for porphyry-style mineral formation. The exploration area is located along the regional Gedabek-Shekarbek fault system, with Shekarbek being another target area known to host copper mineralisation, situated in the northwest of the zone.

In 2020, 12 drill holes were completed totalling 7,675 metres. The drill results are summarised in the linked report. The deposit is currently being drilled with three core drill machines and further geophysics work will be carried out if required. Sampling for a mineralogical study is also underway to assess the mineral relations between the metallic minerals and gangue mineralogy. This will be used to assess the relationship between the copper and gold mineralisation (grain size and liberation characteristics), which will be used to understand the grind sizes and processing options.

Based on the work in 2020, a preliminary estimate of the deposit size is about 6 million tonnes of mineralised rock. The Company will continue to evaluate the potential of the deposit by stepping out from the known areas of mineralisation and further testing hot spots along the structural trend. The aim is to continue to grow the resources to allow for their economic assessments for future mining and production.

Drill hole intersections summary

Hole I.D.		Intersection				Weighted Average Grades
		Depth From	Depth To	Downhole Length		Au				Ag	Cu		Zn
		m	m	m		g/t				g/t	%		%
20GED02		469.10	473.70	4.60		0.31				5.00	0.03		0.05
		483.00	484.20	1.20		3.24				5.00	0.54		5.76
		484.20	486.00	1.80		0.42				5.00	0.11		2.00
		499.60	505.00	5.40		0.11				5.00	0.03		1.11
20GED03		289.00	342.70	53.70		0.21				8.83	0.16		0.24
		358.00	381.00	23.00		0.18				16.82	0.15		0.09
		428.00	442.00	14.00		0.23				17.14	0.37		0.13
		450.90	483.00	32.10		0.18				18.63	0.19		0.27
		with notable intersection
		299.00	302.00	3.00		0.24				10.33	0.12		1.63
		320.10	321.60	1.50		0.23				5.00	1.28		0.21
		334.00	335.00	1.00		0.51				5.00	1.66		0.19
		463.00	468.00	5.00		0.16				14.00	0.15		1.39
20GED04		273.20	274.20	1.00		0.32				5.00	0.07		7.91
		306.60	315.00	8.40		0.16				5.00	0.01		0.01
		336.00	365.00	29.00		0.15				18.69	0.06		0.28
		399.00	413.00	14.00		0.11				10.71	0.21		0.07
20GED05		493	494	1.00		0.19				5.00	0.03		0.01
		730.8	733	1.20		0.23				5.00	0.01		0.06
20GED06		287.00	287.60	0.60		0.03				18.00	0.01		0.02
		357.80	358.80	1.00		0.03				15.00	0.01		0.02
20GED07		265.00	266.00	1.00		0.03				10.00	0.22		0.03
		273.00	275.00	2.00		0.03				5.00	0.20		0.02
		278.80	279.90	1.10		0.20				5.00	0.02		0.01
		292.00	293.00	1.00		0.05				5.00	0.16		1.54
		322.80	324.00	1.20		0.22				5.00	0.06		0.02
		377.10	378.10	1.00		0.07				5.00	0.16		0.06
		444.50	446.50	2.00		0.31				16.00	0.61		0.02
		465.00	466.00	1.00		0.40				5.00	0.02		0.01
20GED08		257.00	370.00	113.00		0.68				13.80	0.50		0.57
		380.00	384.00	4.00		0.16				5.00	0.14		2.25
		with notable intersection
		269.00	270.00	1.00		12.39				50.00	5.00		2.02
		277.00	278.00	1.00		0.66				35.00	2.91		2.46
Hole I.D.	Intersection						Weighted Average Grades
	Depth From		Depth To		Downhole Length		Au		Ag			Cu		Zn
	m		m		m		g/t		g/t			%		%
20GED09	231.00		240.00		9.00		0.81		30.30			1.85		4.49
	243.00		247.00		4.00		1.30		37.50			3.02		2.83
	272.50		339.00		66.50		0.58		14.86			0.51		0.70
	352.00		356.00		4.00		0.21		5.00			0.07		0.83
	417.00		422.30		5.30		0.22		5.00			0.04		0.01
	464.55		474.50		9.95		0.58		5.00			1.36		0.02
	with notable intersection
	232.00		236.00		4.00		1.12		37.00			1.71		7.34
	296.00		299.00		3.00		2.79		5.00			0.76		2.20
	464.55		469.00		4.45		0.83		5.00			2.55		0.01
20GED10	351.35		354.20		2.85		0.31		32.33			0.41		2.83
	362.90		366.10		3.20		0.30		17.50			1.06		0.35
	370.00		376.00		6.00		0.32		5.00			0.14		0.03
	409.50		419.00		9.50		0.30		6.00			0.03		0.02
	434.00		449.00		15.00		0.22		6.53			0.09		0.02
	with notable intersection
	363.70		364.50		0.80		0.33		55.00			2.56		1.26
20GED11	232.55		243.00		10.45		0.17		8.18			0.03		0.13
	246.00		249.00		3.00		0.19		15.66			0.15		0.06
	252.60		281.50		28.90		0.25		10.30			0.13		0.14
	with notable intersection
	271.50		272.50		1.00		0.49	19.00				0.41		2.18
20GED12	241.20		272.00		30.80		0.32	11.46				0.54		0.63
	275.40		298.00		22.60		0.33	5.00				0.23		0.51
	314.00		339.00		25.00		0.26	4.92				0.14		0.60
	363.50		376.00		12.50		0.21	8.46				0.07		2.00
	387.00		399.00		12.00		0.22	5.00				0.15		0.30
	406.00		411.65		5.65		0.09	5.00				0.19		0.04
	415.00		423.00		8.00		0.09	9.38				0.21		0.04
	468.00		473.00		5.00		0.03	21.60				0.02		0.86
	with notable intersection
	367.50		374.00		6.50		0.21	6.42				0.09		3.08
20GED13	241.00		243.00		2.00		1.51	5.00				0.14		0.10
	308.75		336.00		27.25		0.43	39.10				0.15		1.40
	547.00		558.80		11.80		0.17	5.83				0.26		0.00
	with notable intersection
	309.90		317.00		7.10		0.63	126.92				0.13		4.01

Note 1: Assaying was completed over the standard gold-silver-copper-zinc suite.

Note 2: Minimum Reporting Limits for Exploration Results (figures in red): Intersections were reported if samples graded ≥ 0.15 g/t gold +/or ≥ 15 g/t silver +/or ≥ 0.2% copper +/or ≥ 1.0% zinc.

Competent Person Statement

The information in the announcement that relates to exploration results, minerals resources and ore reserves is based on information compiled by Dr Stephen Westhead, who is a full time employee of Anglo Asian Mining with the position of Director of Geology & Mining, who is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London, a Chartered Geologist, Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, Member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Stephen Westhead 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'; who is a Member or Fellow of a 'Recognised Professional Organisation' (RPO) included in a list that is posted on the ASX website from time to time (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society and Member of the Institute of Material, Minerals and Mining).

Stephen Westhead has sufficient 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.

Stephen Westhead has reviewed the resources and reserves included in this announcement and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

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 www.angloasianmining.com 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]
Adam Cowl	SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Tel + 44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Megan Ray	Blytheweigh Financial PR	Tel: [phone]

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. 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 67,249 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2020. 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 properties in other jurisdictions in order to fulfil its expansion ambitions and become a mid-tier gold and copper metal production company. It has announced that it will enter into a joint venture with Conroy Gold and Natural resources PLC to explore and develop various gold properties in The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

 

END

 

 

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