Anglo Asian Mining Signs Transformational Deal

Anglo Asian Mining (AIM: AAZ)

Completed a significant deal with the Azerbaijani governement, giving the company the right to three new concessions, which underpins Anglo’s ambition to become a mid-tier copper and gold producer.

This transformative deal includes the Garadagh porphyry deposit which hosts in escess of 300,000 tonnes of copper.

 

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Anglo Asian Mining AIM : AAZ
Stage Production
Metal Gold + copper
Market Cap £140,000,000    @ £1.23
Location Azerbaijan

 

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Anglo Asian MIning Gedabek mine

Anglo Asian Mining – Gedabek facility

 

29 September 2021

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Right to three new concessions bordering the Gedabek and Kyzlbulag Contract Areas

Garadagh porphyry deposit acquired hosting over 300,000 tonnes of copper together with other major resources with significant development potential

Milestone agreement underpins Anglo Asian’s vision to become a mid-tier copper and gold producer

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc (“Anglo Asian” or the “Company”), an AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer operating in Azerbaijan has signed ‘Heads of Terms’ (the “Agreement”) with the Government of Azerbaijan (the “Government”) which awards the Company three new concessions with a combined area of 882 square kilometres.

The new concessions will be immediately effective following ratification by the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Agreement is a transformational milestone in the history of the Company with the Garadagh porphyry deposit alone containing over 300,000 tonnes of copper with an in-situ value of over $3.0 billion at current prices. This acquisition underpins the Company’s vision of becoming a mid-tier gold and copper miner. 

Prior to negotiation of the Agreement, the Company undertook a detailed review of its existing assets and their surrounding regions which identified the new concessions with high potential that contain copper resources and reserves in quantities previously unavailable to the Company.

The new concessions also have considerable synergies and geographical proximity with the Company’s existing mining properties. The Company is currently evaluating how best to exploit the economically mineable copper resources contained within the new concessions.

   

Two of the new concessions border the existing Gedabek and Gosha Contract Areas. They contain the large-scale Garadagh porphyry deposit and the adjacent Xarxar copper deposit and assessment of these valuable assets will start immediately.

A comprehensive exploration programme to prepare JORC compliant mineral resource and ore reserve estimates will commence after ratification of the new concessions. Development will follow the finalisation of the ore reserve estimates and the Company anticipates ore will be extracted by open pit mining.

 

The third new concession area is called Demirli and is adjacent to the Kyzlbulag Contract Area in the Karabakh economic region. The Demirli concession contains the Demirli copper-molybdenum deposit. According to an unsubstantiated report in January 2016, the deposit contained an estimated 275,000 tonnes of copper and 3,200 tonnes of molybdenum. Further details of the report are available on the Company’s website at https://www.angloasianmining.com/operations/new-concessions/.

 

As part of the Agreement, the Company will relinquish its rights to the Soutely mine in the Kalbajar district. This follows the Company’s assessment of Soutely’s security risks and the significant capital expenditure required to develop the mine over the longer timeframe. However, the Company is in discussion with the Government to obtain alternative exploration territory in the Kalbajar district.  

 

The three new concessions will be incorporated into the Company’s existing Production Sharing Agreement (“PSA”) without payment of any acquisition consideration. The changes to the PSA are subject to, and conditional upon, ratification by the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 

Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:

 

“The recent cessation of hostilities with Armenia has presented an opportunity for Anglo Asian to develop its remaining contract areas, granted in 1998 (when its PSA was ratified), and to significantly accelerate its growth strategy towards becoming a mid-tier gold and copper producer.

“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. 

“We highly value our long-standing collaboration and partnership with the Azerbaijan government and appreciate their flexibility in granting us these exciting new concessions, which recognises Anglo Asian’s successful track record of developing assets in the region for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

 

Further details:

Maps of the three new concessions have been published today on the Company’s website and are available HERE. 

·   Following ratification of the amendments to the PSA, the Company will have eight concessions in Azerbaijan with a total area of 2,544 square kilometres.

·  Two new concessions (“Garadagh” and “Xarxar”) will be granted which will infill 808 square kilometres of territory between the current Gedabek and Gosha Contract Areas to create one continuous area of 1,408 square kilometres containing the four concessions. The territory will include the Garadagh and Xarxar deposits which are situated 4.0 and 1.5 kilometres respectively from the northern boundary of the Gedabek Contract Area.

Garadagh contains 168,000 and 150,700 tonnes of copper in Soviet resource classifications C1 and C2 respectively totalling 318,700 tonnes (see Appendix One) with an average grade of 0.64 per cent. copper.

o The nearby Xarxar deposit shows significant potential as it is likely part of the same mineral system.

·     The third new concession (“Demirli”) is adjacent to the existing Kyzlbulag Contract Area in the Karabakh economic region, which will expand the area under concession to the northeast. The new Demirli concession contains the Demirli mining property.

·     The Company’s rights over the three new concessions will commence immediately after their incorporation into the Company’s existing PSA.

·   The PSA in respect of the Kyzlbulag and Vejnaly Contract Areas will be “reset” to year zero upon notification of access.

·     The Government will use all reasonable endeavours to grant physical access to the Kyzlbulag and Demirli contract areas.

·     The rights to the Soutely mining property have been relinquished due to ongoing security concerns, the impracticality of operating a mine straddling the border with Armenia, the high level of risk developing the mine and an absence of infrastructure on the Azerbaijan side of the border. The timing of any access to the area is also unknown.

The incorporation of the new concessions into the PSA will require the ratification of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Company and the Government anticipates this will be completed in a few months. Shareholders should note that there is no guarantee that the changes to the PSA will receive Parliamentary ratification.

 

Anglo Asian Vice-President, Stephen Westhead commented:

 

“We are very excited about the acquisition of these new territories and the significant geographical and operational synergies they bring. In regard to Garadagh and Xarxar, we have considerable expertise and understanding of the area after extensive exploration and mining around Gedabek for many years.

“These new concessions, which have previously had some exploration, represent great upside potential for Anglo Asian in terms of additional resources, with Garadagh alone containing a reported 318,000 tonnes of copper. In addition to the known deposits and mines, significant exploration upside exists at both the new areas based on historical exploration information and the more recent ZTEM and satellite interpretation work by the Company.   

“The substantial volumes of copper within the Garadagh and Demirli deposits significantly strengthen our copper inventory and future production. Copper is playing a vital role for global economies in transitioning to more sustainable practices.

“The long-term supply constraints that the market faces support both the metal pricing and this transformational opportunity for Anglo Asian. The increasing focus on copper will support the sustainable growth and continued income generation for the Company and its shareholders. 

“I look forward to sharing further details of these new mining properties with shareholders as they become available.”

 

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For brevity this announcement has been redacted, to read the full news release, please click HERE

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