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Anglo Asian Mining plc, the AIM listed gold producer, is pleased to
provide an update for the quarter and year ended 31 December 2010 on
operations at its flagship Gedabek gold/copper mine (‘Gedabek’)
in Azerbaijan.
Overview
- Record
quarterly gold (‘Au’) production figure of 19,555 ounces
(‘oz’) at Gedabek
- Production
for year ended 31 December 2010 totals 67,267 oz Au - exceeded 60,000 oz
Au forecast
- Buoyant
gold price - gold sales of 57,398 oz Au completed at an average of
$1,241 per oz for the year
- Produced
gold at an estimated average cash operating cost of $340 per oz Au
including the Government of Azerbaijan’s share and $390 per
oz Au net of the Government of Azerbaijan’s share for year ended
31 December 2010
- Strengthening operations
at Gedabek:
- 240,208 tonnes of dry ore transferred during Q4 2010 onto the
leach pad with an average gold content of 4.32 g/t
- 821,176 tonnes of dry ore transferred during 2010 onto the leach
pad with an average gold content of 4.33 g/t
- Sulphidisation,
Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening (‘SART’) operations
produced 47.5 tonnes of copper (‘Cu’), 380 kg of
silver (‘Ag’) and 6.8 kg Au during Q4 2010
- Total
copper concentrate produced in 2010 contained 182.5 tonnes Cu, 1,460 kg
Ag and 25.9 kg Au
- Sales
protocol for the first 400 wet tonnes of copper concentrate agreed with
government partners - first sales will be made Q1 2011
- Net
debt reduced from $42.2 million at 31 Dec 2009 to $25.6 million at 31
December 2010
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri said,
"This has been a transformational year for the Company, both in terms of
gold production and profitability. We have seen our gold mining
operations at Gedabek improve quarter on quarter, producing a record 19,555
oz of gold for the last quarter and 67,267 oz for the year which exceeded
forecast figures. Additionally, the combination of our low operating
cash costs, which averaged an estimated $340 per oz for the year, and the
favourable gold price, with sales at $1,241 for the year has resulted in a
substantial improvement to our balance sheet. Furthermore, we intend to
capitalise on the all time high copper price with our SART process now fully
operational and first sales protocol in place, and I look forward to copper
concentrate sales benefiting our bottom line for 2011.
"The year ahead looks to be
promising as we continue to build our position as a mid-tier gold producer
and actively look to increase the Company’s production profile through
the continued exploration of the Gedabek, Ordubad and Gosha Contract
Areas. With this in mind, I believe we have a clear business strategy
and will see solid growth further enhancing shareholder value in 2011."
During the quarter ended 31 December
2010, the Company produced 19,555 oz of Au at Gedabek. This brings
total production for the year ended 31 December 2010 to 67,267 oz Au, which
exceeds the Board’s forecast of 60,000 oz Au for the period. The
buoyant gold price has seen Anglo Asian completing gold sales of 17,420 oz Au
at an average of $1,371 per oz for the three months to 31 December 2010 and
gold sales of 57,398 oz Au at an average of $1,241 per oz for the year.
The Company has a Production Sharing
Agreement (‘PSA’) in place with the Government of Azerbaijan
which governs how the production of each of the Company’s Contract
Areas under the PSA is divided between the Company and the Government of
Azerbaijan. Currently, the Company takes ownership of 87.25% of the
production at Gedabek, which accounts for the difference between the total
gold produced at Gedabek and the amount of gold sold by the Company. It
should also be noted that there will always be short-term timing differences
between gold production and sales.
The following summary table of gold
production and prices highlights the quarter-on-quarter increase in gold
production at Gedabek over the past year.
Quarter ended
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Gold Produced (including Govt. of
Azerbaijan’s share) (oz)
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Weighted Average Gold Sale Price
(US$)
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31 Mar 2010
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13,661
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1,102
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30 June 2010
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14,836
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1,197
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30 Sept 2010
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19,214
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1,229
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31 Dec 2010
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19,555
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1,371
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Total for 2010
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67,267
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1,241
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Anglo Asian estimates that its cash
cost of gold produced, excluding the Government of Azerbaijan’s share
for the year to 31 December 2010, was $340 per oz and the cash cost including
the Government of Azerbaijan’s share is estimated at $390 per oz.
It must be noted that these figures are unaudited.
In terms of processing,
Gebabek’s operations have been going from strength to strength.
During the quarter the Company transferred 240,208 tonnes of dry ore onto the
leach pad with an average gold content of 4.32 g/t. For the year to 31
December 2010, Anglo Asian has transferred 821,176 tonnes of dry ore onto the
leach pad with an average gold content of 4.33 g/t.
The Company’s SART process for
the recovery of the copper, in the form of a precipitated copper sulphide
concentrate by-product, containing silver with commercial value is performing
in line with management’s expectations. For the three
months to 31 December 2010 the Company produced copper concentrate that
contained approximately 47.5 tonnes Cu, 380 kg Ag and 6.8 kg Au. For
the year to 31 December 2010, the Company produced copper concentrate that
contained approximately 182.5 tonnes Cu, 1,460 kg Ag and 25.9 kg Au.
A sales protocol for the first 400 wet
tonnes of copper concentrate has been agreed with the Company’s
Government partners and first sales will be made Q1 2011, which will
positively impact FY2011 financials.
The Company’s gross debt as at
31 December 2010 was $30.6 million. At this date, the Company also had
cash balances of $5.0 million resulting in net debt at 31 December 2010 of
$25.6 million.
Additional disclosures required under
Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies have been provided on the
Company’s website on the Directors page (About Us > Directors).
**ENDS**
For further information please
contact:
Reza Vaziri
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Anglo Asian Mining plc
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Tel: +994 12 596 3350
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Andrew Herbert
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Anglo Asian Mining plc
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Tel: +994 12 596 3350
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John Harrison
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Numis Securities Limited, as
Nominated Adviser
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
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James Black
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Numis Securities Limited, as
Corporate Broker
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
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Felicity Edwards
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St Brides Media & Finance Ltd
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
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Hugo de Salis
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St Brides Media & Finance Ltd
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
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Notes:
Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a
gold producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and
exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company has a 1,962 sq km
prospective exploration portfolio, assembled on the back of analysis of historic
Soviet geological data and held under a Production Sharing Agreement
(‘PSA’) based on the Azeri oil industry. The Company
developed Azerbaijan’s first operating gold/copper mine, Gedabek, which
commenced gold production in May 2009. Gold production for the year
ended 31 December 2010 totalled 67,267 oz of gold.
Anglo Asian is actively looking to
exploit its first mover advantage in Azerbaijan to identify additional
projects, as well as looking for other properties in Central Asia and
Caucasia in order to fulfil its expansion ambitions and become a mid-tier
gold and base metal production company focussed in these regions.
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