Parliamentary ratification for new contract areas

RNS Number : 4337R

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

06 July 2022

 

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

6 July 2022

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Secures Parliamentary ratification for three new contract areas

Production Sharing Agreement now includes the extensive Garadagh, Xarxar and Demirli deposits

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, is pleased to announce that amendments to its Production Sharing Agreement ("PSA") were ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan granting the Company three new Contract Areas with a combined area of 882 square kilometres. The parliamentary ratification was signed into law on 5 July 2022 by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

This follows the announcement by the Company on 29 September 2021, stating that Heads of Terms had been signed with the Government of Azerbaijan for the acquisition of these three new Contract Areas. The PSA, together with the Amendments incorporating the three new Contract Areas, is now legally binding in Azerbaijan.

The acquisition of these assets is transformational to Anglo Asian's portfolio, providing significant exposure to copper and underpinning the Company's strategic objective of becoming a mid-tier copper and gold mining company.   The Company has made no payment for the acquisition of the three new Contract Areas.

With ratification now complete, the Company will soon receive all of the available geological data regarding the new assets. Anglo Asian will immediately start a detailed review of the existing data and the opportunities for the development of the new Contract Areas. Once this review is complete, the Company will announce its strategy for the development of the new Contract Areas to achieve mid-tier production status.  

Anglo Asian now has eight Contract Areas in Azerbaijan, covering a total area of 2,544 square kilometres. The new assets present an opportunity for the Company to evolve from predominantly gold producing status to one that is predominantly copper. The Garadagh porphyry deposit alone contains over 300,000 tonnes of copper.

Anglo Asian chief executive officer Reza Vaziri commented:

"On behalf of everyone at Anglo Asian, I am delighted to have received this Parliamentary ratification which legally grants us the three new contract areas the Company was awarded in September 2021 . The significance of these acquisitions cannot be overstated, adding considerable mineralisation to our asset base and revolutionising our portfolio.

" These new contract areas provide Anglo Asian with a pathway to achieving our ambition of becoming a mid-tier mining company. In pursuit of this, the Company is currently developing our operational growth strategy and we look forward to sharing this with the market once finalised."

The new Contract Areas

Garadagh and Xarxar are situated 4 and 1.5 kilometres respectively from the northern boundary of Gedabek. Garadagh contains 168,000 and 150,700 tonnes of copper in Soviet resource classifications C1 and C2 respectively, totalling 318,700 tonnes with an average grade of 0.64 per cent. Xarxar has displayed significant potential as it is likely part of the same mineral system, and our geologists will now be able to assess the site.

Demirli is adjacent to the existing Kyzlbulag Contract Area in the Karabakh economic region, and will expand the area under concession to the northeast. The new Demirli Contract Area contains the already built Demirli mining property, so developing operations at Demirli should have an accelerated timeline.

Maps displaying the new concessions, their proximities to existing assets and therefore the operational synergies these create, can be accessed on our website: https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2021/09/28165525/AAM-New-Maps.pdf

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 Vice President, Azerbaijan International Mining Company 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'. Stephen Westhead consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

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 mineral resources included in this announcement.

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.

**ENDS**

For further information please 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 Adam Cowl	SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel: [phone]
Charlie Jack Harry Griffiths	Hudson Sandler	Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors:

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 produced 64,610 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2021. 

In September 2021, the Company announced a transaction with the Government of Azerbaijan which grants it 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. The transaction is subject to ratification by the parliament of Azerbaijan.

In December 2021, the Company undertook a private placement which acquired 19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). The transaction was completed in January 2022. 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.   

https://www.angloasianmining.com/

 

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