Q1 2016 operations and production update, Gedabek

RNS Number : 9823U

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

13 April 2016

 

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

13 April 2016

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Quarter 1 2016, operations and production update - Gedabek gold, copper and silver mine, Azerbaijan

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or "the Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide an operations and production update from its Gedabek gold, copper and silver mine ("Gedabek") in western Azerbaijan for the three months to 31 March 2016 ("Q1 2016"). Note that all references to "$" are to United States dollars.

Production overview

·    Gold production for Q1 2016 totalled 14,172 ounces with 13,383 ounces contained within gold doré, 12 ounces from SART processing and 777 ounces from flotation (Q4 2015: total 17,930 ounces)

·    Copper production for Q1 2016 totalled 432 tonnes, 181 tonnes from SART processing and 251 tonnes from flotation (Q4 2015: total 335 tonnes)

·    Silver production for Q1 2016 totalled 34,342 ounces with 1,958 ounces contained within gold doré, 7,789 ounces from SART processing and 24,595 ounces from flotation (Q4 2015: total 17,710 ounces)

·    Gold production target for the year to 31 December 2016 ("FY 2016") is a total of between 73,000 ounces and 77,000 ounces (which includes approximately 4,000 ounces to 5,000 ounces of production from the flotation plant)

·    Copper production target for FY 2016 is between 1,700 tonnes and 2,100 tonnes, comprising between 700 tonnes to 800 tonnes from SART processing and between 1,000 tonnes to 1,300 tonnes from flotation

Operational update

·    First full quarter of production from flotation plant - plant produced 251 tonnes of copper and 777 ounces of gold

·    Gold doré production lower than Q4 2015 due to harder ore with lower grades encountered and severe winter weather. Second SAG mill for the agitation leach plant now contracted for and expected to begin operation in Q3 2016. This will increase amount of ore that can be processed to offset slower milling of harder ore

·    Additional underground equipment purchased from Atlas Copco (drill machine, loader and truck) to improve productivity of the Gadir underground mine

·    New contract signed with Industrial Minerals S.A. for the sale of copper concentrate produced by the flotation plant

Sales

·    Q1 2016 gold doré sales of 12,058 ounces of gold at an average of $1,184 per ounce (Q4 2015: 15,759 ounces at an average of $1,108 per ounce)

·    Q1 2016 copper concentrate shipments to the customer totalled 1,330 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") with a sales value of $2.1m (excluding Government of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q4 2015: 817 tonnes with a sales value of $1.3 million)

Company financials

·    Net debt, being interest-bearing loans and borrowings, less cash and cash equivalents, totaled $47.5 million at 31 March 2016 ($49.2 million at 31 December 2015)

Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented, "Following record gold production in 2015 when we produced 72,032 ounces of gold, the first quarter of 2016 has unfortunately seen a slow-down in production. Ordinarily, the first quarter of the year has always had lower production due to the difficult winter weather conditions. However, the harder rock that has been encountered together with its lower grade has also further lowered production compared to the previous quarter. To combat this harder rock, we have contracted for a second SAG mill to be installed in the agitation leach plant and we expect the SAG mill to be operational in Q3 2016.

"We are very pleased to report the first full quarter's production from the flotation plant. We look forward to its production ramping up in the months ahead.  In addition, we have seen the gold price rising sixteen per cent. in the quarter, its best performance in thirty years. We look forward to seeing this positively impact our revenues in quarter two and beyond as we continue on our path to build a mid-tier gold and copper producer in Azerbaijan."

Full details

During Q1 2016, the Company mined 344,171 tonnes of ore from its Gedabek open pit. 17,756 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 7.91 grammes per tonne was mined from its Gadir underground mine. The Company has recently purchased an MT2010 mine truck, a TD1 underground drill machine and a ST7 Scooptram loader from Atlas Copco for EUR 1.2 million to improve the productivity of the Gadir mine. The majority of this equipment is already at site with the remaining items expected within the next 10 days.

As previously reported, low grade ore (less than 1.5 grammes per tonne of gold) is being treated by heap leaching, whilst higher grade ore (more than 1.5 grammes per tonne of gold) is being processed through the agitation leaching plant.

During Q1 2016, Anglo Asian stacked 91,450 tonnes of dry crushed ore on to heap leach pads with an average gold content of 1.46 grammes per tonne. The Company also heap leached uncrushed (Run of Mine - "ROM") ore. During Q1 2016, Anglo Asian stacked 114,508 tonnes of ROM ore on to heap leach pads with an average gold content of 0.88 grammes per tonne.

During the quarter, the Company processed 131,930 tonnes of ore with an average gold content of 2.93 grammes per tonne through the agitation leaching plant.

There was a 70 per cent. gold recovery in agitation leaching for Q1 2016, a decrease from 78 per cent. seen in the previous quarter. The lower gold recovery was as a result of the lower grade of ore processed. Gold doré is produced from both heap and agitated leach intermediate solutions, which are combined for final processing and also recirculated around the plant, heap leach pads and tailings dam. Heap leaching is a long term process and recoveries are therefore only estimates calculated from available metallurgical statistics.

During Q1 2016, the Company produced gold doré containing 13,383 ounces of gold and 1,958 ounces of silver at Gedabek. The agitation leach plant produced 8,683 and 1,267 ounces of gold and silver, respectively, and the heap leach operations produced 4,700 and 691 ounces of gold and silver, respectively. The reduced gold doré production from agitation leaching was due to the lower amount of crushed ore feedstock processed by the plant because of the harder rock encountered, the lower grade of the ore, and the reduced recoveries.

The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2015 and Q1 2016:

	Gold produced* (ounces)		Silver Produced* (ounces)		Gold sales** (ounces)		Gold Sales price ($/ounce)
Quarter ended
31 March 2015	17,185		597		17,206		1,214
30 June 2015	18,739		900		16,088		1,193
30 Sept 2015	18,158		907		14,871		1,123
31 Dec 2015	17,588		1,858		15,759		1,108
FY 2015 - total	71,670		4,262		63,924		1,161
31 March 2016	13,383		1,958		12,058		1,184

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

During Q1 2016, the Company produced copper concentrate from both its SART and flotation plants as follows:

	Concentrate	Copper	Gold	Silver
	production*	content*	content*	content*
	(dmt)	(tonnes)	(ounces)	(ounces)
SART processing	441	181	12	7,789
Flotation	1,458	251	777	24,595
Total	1,899	432	789	32,384

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

During Q1 2016, 108,381 dry metric tonnes of agitation leach plant tailings were processed by the flotation plant. The gross metal contained within this feed-stock was 3,146 ounce of gold, 64,612 ounces of silver and 570 tonnes of copper.

Anglo Asian has a strategic three year sales partnership in place with Industrial Minerals S.A. which commenced in May 2014 for the sale of Anglo Asian copper concentrates from its SART plant. In March 2016, the Company signed a further contract with Industrial Minerals S.A. for the sale of copper concentrate produced from its flotation plant. This contract is for the period 15 March 2016 to 31 December 2018. The contract is on the same terms as the Company's existing contract with the exception of improved terms for any penalty due to the concentrate containing zinc. Concentrate can be sold containing up to 12 per cent. zinc subject to a sliding scale of penalties for a zinc content between 1 to 12 per cent.

The following table summarises copper concentrate production and sales from SART and flotation processing (which commenced in Q4 2015) at Gedabek for FY 2015 and Q1 2016:

	Concentrate	Copper	Gold	Silver	Concentrate	Concentrate
	production*	content*	content*	content*	sales**	sales**
	(dmt)	(tonnes)	(ounces)	(ounces)	(dmt)	($000)
Quarter ended
31 March 2015	298	182	8	1,354	234	660
30 June 2015	391	236	6	3,627	372	1,076
30 Sept 2015	406	216	7	3,532	279	661
31 Dec 2015	955	335	341	15,851	817	1,285
FY 2015 - total	2,050	969	362	24,364	1,702	3,682
31 March 2016	1,899	432	789	32,384	1,330	2,137

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

The Company had net debt at 31 March 2016 of $47.5 million, a reduction of $1.7 million since 31 December 2015. The net debt at 31 March 2016 was as follows:   

	$m
Amsterdam Trade Bank -  Agitation plant loan	24.7
International Bank of Azerbaijan -  loan International Bank of Azerbaijan - credit line	9.7 2.9
Atlas Copco equipment finance loan YapiKredit Pasha Bank Director	1.5 1.2 4.6 3.9
Total Loans	48.5
Cash on hand and at bank	(1.0)
Net debt	47.5

**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]
Ewan Leggat	SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel: [phone]
Laura Harrison	SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Tel + 44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Lottie Brocklehurst	St Brides Partners Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Susie Geliher	St Brides Partners Ltd	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 developed Azerbaijan's first operating gold/copper/silver mine, Gedabek, which commenced gold production in May 2009.  Gedabek is an open cast mine with a series of interconnected pits. The Company is also mines high grade ore from the 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.

Gold production for the year ended 31 December 2015 from Gedabek totaled 72,032 ounces with 969 tonnes of copper also produced.  Gedabek is a polymetallic deposit and its ore has a high copper content, and as a result the Company produces copper concentrate from its Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening (SART) plant. Anglo Asian also produces a copper and precious metal concentrate from its flotation plant, which commenced production in the last quarter of 2015. This is initially processing tailings from the agitation leach 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.

 

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