Q2 & H1 2023 Production and Operations Review

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

13 July 2023

 

13 July 2023

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Q2 & H1 2023 Production and Operations Review

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide a production, sales and operational review for the three months to 30 June 2023 ("Q2 2023") and six months to 30 June 2023 ("H1 2023").

Operational highlights

·	The Company announced its strategic growth plan, that outlined its 4 year transition to mid-tier production status with copper as its principal product
·	The Company retains its  production target of 50,000 to 54,000 gold equivalent ounces for 2023 and continues to successfully execute its growth strategy

H1 2023 and Q2 2023 Production update

·	Total production of 23,391 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") in H1 2023 (H1 2022: 28,722 GEOs) and 12,422 GEOs in Q2 2023 calculated using actual metal prices
·	Copper production increased to 1,860 tonnes in H1 2023 (H1 2022: 1,283 tonnes) and rose by 42 per cent. year-on-year in Q2 2023 to 1,013 tonnes (Q2 2022: 715 tonnes) as part of the Company's growth strategy to increase its copper production o Ore processed by the expanded flotation plant in Q2 2023 increased to 190,593 tonnes (Q2 2022: 114,099 tonnes)
·	Gold production of 14,608 ounces during H1 2023 (H1 2022: 20,906 ounces) and 7,867 ounces in Q2 2023 (Q2 2022: 10,866 ounces) due to decreasing grades at Gedabek o Agitation leaching plant idle from 2 May to 30 May as ore now processed on a campaign basis
·	Silver production totalled 44,576 ounces in H1 2023 (H1 2022: 99,548 ounces) and 22,010 ounces in Q2 2023 (Q2 2022: 48,874 ounces)

Q2 2023 Sales and cash update

·	Cash of $9.4 million at 30 June 2023 (31 March 2023: $10.7 million), with inventory valued at $8.9 millionconsisting of 2,366 ounces of gold valued at $4.5 million and copper concentrate valued at $4.4 million
·	The Company completed the sale of 1,000 ounces of gold bullion on 30 June 2023 at $1,947.5 per ounce under the Company's hedging programme, compared to the LBMA PM price of $1,912.25 generating additional revenue of $35,250

Reza Vaziri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anglo Asian, commented:

"During the first half of this year, we were delighted to announce our strategic growth plan, which will see Anglo Asian reach its operational potential in becoming a producer of circa 36,000 tonnes of copper equivalent by 2028. This is underpinned by the three new contract areas acquired during 2022 and our enhanced strategic focus on copper. The execution of this plan is progressing well, with a number of our assets achieving developmental milestones during the first half of 2023. In particular, Gilar is still on track to begin production in the fourth quarter of the year."

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 57,618 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2022. 

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 2028, copper will be the principal product of the Company, with forecast production of around 36,000 copper equivalent tonnes. It plans to achieve this growth by bringing into production four new mines during 2023 to 2028 at Zafar, Gilar, Xarxar and Garadag. 

The Company owns approximately 19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). 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/

Q2 2023 Production overview

·	Gold production of 7,867 ounces (Q2 2022: 10,866 ounces): o 7,375 ounces contained within gold doré o 16 ounces from sulphidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening ("SART") processing o 476 ounces from flotation
·	Copper production of 1,013 tonnes (Q2 2022: 715 tonnes): o 146 tonnes from SART processing o 867 tonnes from flotation processing e
·	Silver production totalled 22,010 ounces (Q2 2022: 48,874 ounces): o 3,593 ounces contained within gold doré o 10,348 ounces from SART processing o 8,069 ounces from flotation

Q2 2023 Sales overview

·	Total gold bullion sales of 4,787 ounces at an average of $1,992 per ounce (Q2 2022: 3,754 ounces at an average of $1,895 per ounce)
·	The 4,787 ounces of gold sold include 1,000 ounces sold on 30 June 2023 under the Company's hedge programme for $1,947.50 per ounce when the LBMA PM gold price was $1,912.25
·	Total concentrate sales of 5,501 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") with a value of $7.7 million (Q2 2022: 4,642 dmt with a value of $8.1 million)

Q2 2023 Financial overview

·	Cash of $9.4 million ($10.7 million at 31 March 2023)
·	Unsold gold doré and copper concentrate inventory of $8.9 million

Q1 2023 Operations review

The Company mined the following ore during FY 2022 and the six months to 30 June 2023:

	12 months to  31 December 2022		3 months to 31 March 2023		3 months to 30 June 2023
Mine	Ore mined	Average gold grade	Ore mined	Average gold grade	Ore mined	Average gold grade
	(tonnes)	(g/t)	(tonnes)	(g/t)	(tonnes)	(g/t)
Open pit	1,705,337	0.47	415,365	0.43	591,118	0.30
Gadir - u/g	136,715	1.41	38,867	1.64	46,334	1.54
Gedabek - u/g	373,915	1.30	-	-	-	-
Total	2,215,967	0.67	454,232	0.53	637,452	0.39

The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by leaching for FY 2022 and the six months to 30 June 2023:

Quarter ended	Ore processed			Gold grade of ore processed
	Heap leach pad crushed ore (tonnes)	Heap leach pad ROM ore (tonnes)	Agitation leaching plant* (tonnes)	Heap leach pad crushed ore (g/t)	Heap leach pad ROM ore (g/t)	Agitation leaching plant* (g/t)
31 March 2022	115,173	273,577	144,275	0.75	0.48	1.63
30 June 2022	82,814	299,762	162,239	0.78	0.53	1.40
30 September 2022	92,398	302,714	162,669	0.81	0.57	1.42
31 December 2022	24,606	213,120	156,285	0.72	0.56	1.42
FY 2022	314,991	1,089,173	625,468	0.77	0.56	1.43
31 March 2023	94,518	196,595	62,006	0.74	0.49	1.3
30 June 2023	56,522	203,016	105,213	0.75	0.46	1.4
H1 2023	151,040	399,611	167,219	0.75	0.49	1.4

* includes previously heap leached ore.

The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained metal by flotation for FY 2022 and the six months ended 30 June 2023:

Quarter ended	Ore processed	Gold content	Silver content	Copper content
	(tonnes)	(ounces)	(ounces)	(tonnes)
31 March 2022	104,475	1,921	33,522	577
30 June 2022	114,099	1,293	24,209	745
30 September 2022	143,838	1,314	24,582	724
31 December 2022	119,819	1,389	18,003	670
FY 2022	482,231	5,917	100,316	2,716
31 March 2023	192,516	1,487	19,787	1,133
30 June 2023	190,593	1,033	10,380	1,191
H1 2023	383,109	2,520	30,167	2,324

The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2022 and six months ended 30 June 2023:

Quarter ended	Gold produced* (ounces)	Silver produced* (ounces)	Gold sales** (ounces)	Gold Sales price ($/ounce)
31 March 2022	8,963	7,574	7,519	1,904
30 June 2022	10,137	7,620	3,754	1,895
30 September 2022	10,473	6,949	10,000	1,727
31 December 2022	10,437	4,820	13,645	1,727
FY 2022	40,010	26,963	34,918	1,783
31 March 2023	5,965	2,841	5,719	1,895
30 June 2023	7,375	3,593	4,787	1,992
H1 2023	13,340	6,434	10,506	1,939

Note

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excluding Government of Azerbaijan's share

The gold and silver production from agitation and heap leaching for FY 2022 and the six months ended 30 June 2023 is as follows:

Quarter ended	Gold			Silver
	Agitation leaching (ounces)	Heap leaching (ounces)	Total (ounces)	Agitation leaching (ounces)	Heap leaching (ounces)	Total (ounces)
31 March 2022	5,674	3,289	8,963	4,803	2,771	7,574
30 June 2022	6,196	3,941	10,137	4,654	2,966	7,620
30 Sept 2022	5,517	4,956	10,473	3,673	3,276	6,949
31 Dec 2022	5,831	4,606	10,437	2,684	2,136	4,820
FY 2022	23,218	16,792	40,010	15,814	11,139	26,963
31 March 2023	2,105	3,860	5,965	1,077	1,764	2,841
30 June 2023	3,463	3,912	7,375	1,735	1,858	3,593
H1 2023	5,568	7,772	13,340	2,812	3,622	6,434

The following table summarises copper concentrate production from both the Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2022 and the six months ended 30 June 2023 is as follows:

	Concentrate	Copper	Gold	Silver
	production*	content*	content*	content*
	(dmt)	(tonnes)	(ounces)	(ounces)
2022
Quarter ended 31 March
SART processing	330	188	12	25,114
Flotation	2,586	380	1,065	17,986
Total	2,916	568	1,077	43,100
Quarter ended 30 June
SART processing	316	168	14	25,582
Flotation	3,811	547	715	15,672
Total	4,127	715	729	41,254
Quarter ended 30 September
SART processing	367	208	33	24,077
Flotation	2,805	401	581	14,094
Total	3,172	609	614	38,171
Quarter ended 31 December
SART processing	438	244	39	20,833
Flotation	2,648	380	645	11,725
Total	3,086	624	684	32,558
2023
Quarter ended 31 March
SART processing	364	190	25	8,750
Flotation	4,544	657	751	10,975
Total	4,908	847	776	19,725
Quarter ended 30 June
SART processing	272	146	16	10,348
Flotation	5,613	867	476	8,069
Total	5,885	1,013	492	18,417

Note

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share.

Certain amounts for SART and flotation production may differ to those previously disclosed due to final reconciliation of production.

The following table summarises total copper concentrate production and sales for FY 2022 and the six months ended 30 June 2023. Note that sales of concentrates are initially recorded at provisional amounts until agreement of final assay:

	Concentrate	Copper	Gold	Silver	Concentrate	Concentrate
	production*	content*	content*	content*	sales**	sales**
	(dmt)	(tonnes)	(ounces)	(ounces)	(dmt)	($000)
Quarter ended
31 March 2022	2,916	568	1,077	43,100	1,477	3,248
30 June 2022	4,127	715	729	41,254	4,642	8,127
30 September 2022	3,172	609	614	38,171	1,718	3,378
31 December 2022	3,086	624	684	32,558	4,606	7,487
FY 2022	13,301	2,516	3,104	155,083	12,443	22,240
31 March 2023	4,908	847	776	19,725	1,147	2,743
30 June 2023	5,885	1,013	492	18,417	5,501	7,678
H1 2023	10,793	1,860	1,268	38,142	6,648	10,421

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

 

END