One of the concessions includes the Garadagh deposit, which is claimed to hold over 300,000 tonnes of copper
Azerbaijan awards three new mining concessions to Anglo Asian Mining. (Credit: Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay)
Anglo Asian Mining, a gold, copper, and silver producer, has secured three new mining concessions in Azerbaijan near the company’s Gedabek and Kyzlbulag contract areas.
The concessions, which are spread over a combined area of 882km2, were awarded following the signing of a heads of terms agreement with the Azerbaijani government.
Anglo Asian Mining said that the concessions will be effective immediately after ratification by the Azerbaijani Parliament. The company will incorporate them into its existing production sharing agreement (PSA) without payment of any consideration for the acquisition.
According to the miner, two of the concessions border the existing Gedabek and Gosha contract areas. The concessions contain the Garadagh porphyry deposit and the nearby Xarxar copper deposit.
The company plans to immediately begin assessment of the two assets.
Anglo Asian Mining claimed that the Garadagh deposit on its own holds more than 300,000 tonnes of copper with an in-situ value of more than $3bn at current prices.
The company said that it will take up an exploration programme for preparing mineral resource and ore reserve estimates of the assets after the concessions are ratified.
After finalising the ore reserve estimates, the company will take up development of the assets, with the ore expected to be extracted by open pit mining.
The third new concession area secured by the company is called Demirli, which contains the Demirli copper-molybdenum deposit. It is located near the Kyzlbulag contract area in the Karabakh economic region.
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri said: “Following extensive negotiations, we are very pleased to have secured two additional highly strategic mining properties immediately adjacent to the north of the Gedabek contract area.
“Together with the new Demirli mining property, they ensure the Company is now in an excellent position to generate long-term sustainable growth with a greatly increased resource and reserve base with outstanding exploration potential.”
Under the same agreement with the Azerbaijani government, the company will relinquish its rights to the Soutely mine located in the Kalbajar district.
The company said that the decision was driven by the security risks and the considerable capital expenditure associated with the development of the mine over a longer timeframe.
However, Anglo Asian Mining is in talks with the government to get an alternative exploration territory in the Kalbajar district.