TIDMAAZ

RNS Number : 6109Z

Anglo Asian Mining PLC

15 January 2024

15 January 2024

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Q4 and FY 2023 Production and Operations Review

FY 2023 production of 31,821 gold equivalent ounces at mid-range of guidance

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer primarily operating in Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide an operational and production review for the fourth quarter ("Q4 2023") and twelve months to 31 December 2023 ("FY 2023" or the "Period").

Production during the Period was significantly reduced due to operations being partially suspended as the Company and third-party contractors finalised the results of an environmental audit at its operations. An action plan was agreed with the Government of Azerbaijan on 7 November 2023, and the Company was pleased to restart mining at Gedabek in December 2023.

Production update

-- Total FY 2023 production of 31,821 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs"), in the mid-range of the revised guidance of 30,000 to 34,000 GEOs (FY 2022: 57,618 GEOs)

   --    Q4 2023 production of 3,080 GEOs (Q4 2022: 14,532 GEOs) 

Operational update

   --    Protocol agreed with the Government of Azerbaijan to restart operations following the partial environmental shut-down in Q3 2023 

o Mining from the Gedabek open pit restarted in December 2023

o Operations now being ramped up with flotation production restarting in Q2 2024

-- Production of gold doré and copper concentrate continued throughout Q4 2023 from heap leaching and SART processing

-- Caterpillar underground mining fleet for the new Gilar mine delivered to Gedabek in early December 2023

   --    Gilar maiden JORC mineral resource confirmed meaningful quantities of copper and gold 

o In-situ mineral resource of 54,000 tonnes of copper, 255,000 ounces of gold and 46,000 tonnes of zinc

   --    Gilar development continues with production planned to commence during Q3 2024 

Cash and inventory update

-- Net debt of $10.3 million at 31 December 2023 (30 September 2023: net cash of $1.6 million) with the following payment made in Q4 2023

o $4.7 million to Caterpillar for the underground mining fleet and associated equipment

-- Negotiations ongoing to refinance $3.7 million of the mining fleet purchase price with vendor financing

   --    Gross cash of $10.3 million at 31 December 2023 

o $15.0 million drawn down from International Bank of Azerbaijan under its revolving credit facility and loan agreements

o $5.6 million loan drawn down from Access Bank in August 2023

-- The Company had inventory at market value of $7.1 million at 31 December 2023 (gold and silver bullion of $6.9 million and copper concentrate of $0.2 million)

-- 1,000 ounces of gold bullion sold in Q4 2023 at an average price of $2,001 per ounce under the gold hedging programme, generating additional sales revenue of $44,000

o Total gold bullion sales in Q4 2023 of 2,416 ounces at an average of $2,004 per ounce

o 1,500 ounces of gold bullion was sold for $2,061.5 per ounce on 3 January 2024 yielding proceeds of $3.1 million

Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:

"Despite a number of challenges faced during the Period, we are pleased to announce production within our previously revised guidance range.

"In November, we were pleased to agree a protocol with the Government of Azerbaijan to restart our operations, and mining at our flagship Gedabek mine recommenced in December. We continue to make meaningful progress in restarting flotation production, which is on-track to begin from Q2 2024.

"The completion of a maiden JORC mineral resource for Gilar marked a milestone for the Company, confirming our internal estimates regarding the asset's potential and its ability to meaningfully contribute to our production portfolio in the years ahead. We were also pleased to announce the delivery of a new state-of-the-art underground mining fleet for Gilar from Caterpillar, the first deployment of this type of equipment in Azerbaijan.

"Looking ahead to 2024, we will continue to prioritise the development of our exciting asset portfolio in line with our growth strategy, while driving production from our existing mines. I look forward to updating the market on our progress in the coming months."

Note that all references to "$" are to United States dollars and "CAN$" are to Canadian dollars.

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 
                                             Tel: +994 12 596 
 Reza Vaziri, Chief Executive Officer         3350 
                                             Tel: +994 502 910 
 Bill Morgan, Chief Financial Officer         400 
                                             Tel: +994 502 916 
 Stephen Westhead, Vice President             894 
 
 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated   Tel: +44 (0) 20 
  Adviser and Broker)                         3470 0470 
  Ewan Leggat 
  Adam Cowl 
 
 Hudson Sandler (Financial PR)               Tel: +44 0) 20 7796 
  Charlie Jack                                4133 
  Harry Griffiths 
 

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 which time 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 the period 2024 to 2028 at Zafar, Gilar, Xarxar and Garadag.

The Company owns approximately 13.1 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). Libero is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and owns Mocoa in Colombia, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-molybdenum resources. https://www.angloasianmining.com/

Production and sales overview

Q4 2023 production

   --    Total production of 3,080 GEOs (Q4 2022: 14,531 GEOs), comprising of: 

o 2,979 ounces of gold (Q4 2022: 11,121 ounces):

-- 2,975 ounces contained within gold doré

-- 4 ounces from sulfidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening ("SART") processing

o 18 tonnes of copper (Q4 2022: 624 tonnes):

-- 18 tonnes from SART processing

o 2,874 ounces of silver (Q4 2022: 37,378 ounces):

-- 1,610 ounces contained within gold doré

-- 1,264 ounces from SART processing

FY 2023 production

   --    Total production of 31,821 GEOs (FY 2022: 57,618 GEOs), including: 

o 21,758 ounces of gold (FY 2022: 43,114 ounces)

o 2,138 tonnes of copper (FY 2022: 2,516 tonnes)

o 53,226 ounces of silver (FY 2022: 182,046 ounces)

Q4 2023 Sales

-- Q4 2023 gold bullion sales of 2,416 ounces at an average of $2,004 per ounce (Q4 2022: 13,645 ounces sold at an average of $1,727 per ounce)

-- Q4 2023 copper concentrate shipments totalled 2,186 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") with a sales value of $2.3 million (excluding Government of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q4 2022: 4,606 dmt with a sales value of $7.5 million)

Gedabek - mining, detailed production and sales

The Company mined the following amounts and grades of ore in the 12 months to 31 December 2023:

 
                    9 months to            3 months to          12 months to 
                  30 September 2023      31 December 2023      31 December 2023 
                             Average               Average               Average 
                                gold                  gold                  gold 
 Mine            Ore mined     grade   Ore mined     grade   Ore mined     grade 
                  (tonnes)     (g/t)    (tonnes)     (g/t)    (tonnes)     (g/t) 
               -----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 Open pit        1,079,302      0.35     101,393      0.69   1,180,695      0.38 
 Gadir - u/g        93,625      1.65      15,695      1.58     109,320      1.64 
 Gedabek -               -         -           -         -           -         - 
  u/g 
               -----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 Total           1,172,927      0.67     117,088      0.81   1,290,015      0.49 
-------------  -----------  --------  ----------  --------  ----------  -------- 
 

The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by leaching for FY 2022 and FY 2023:

 
 Quarter ended                  Ore processed                   Gold grade of ore processed 
                    -------------------------------------  ------------------------------------ 
                         Heap         Heap                      Heap         Heap 
                         leach        leach     Agitation       leach        leach    Agitation 
                      pad crushed    pad ROM     leaching    pad crushed    pad ROM    leaching 
                          ore          ore        plant*         ore          ore       plant* 
                       (tonnes)      (tonnes)    (tonnes)       (g/t)        (g/t)      (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       202,788     105,213        0.75         0.46        1.4 
                    -------------  ----------  ----------  -------------  ---------  ---------- 
 H1 2023               151,040       399,383     167,219        0.75         0.49        1.4 
                    -------------  ----------  ----------  -------------  ---------  ---------- 
 30 September 
  2023                  25,690       34,621         -           0.83         0.45         - 
 31 December 2023         -             -           -            -            -           - 
                    -------------  ----------  ----------  -------------  ---------  ---------- 
 H2 2023                25,690       34,621         -           0.83         0.45         - 
                    -------------  ----------  ----------  -------------  ---------  ---------- 
 FY 2023               176,730       434,004     167,219        0.76         0.48        1.4 
------------------  -------------  ----------  ----------  -------------  ---------  ---------- 
 

* includes previously heap leached ore

The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained metal by flotation for FY 2022 and FY 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 
                    --------------  -------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 30 September 
  2023                  62,369           478            4,358             363 
 31 December 2023          -              -               -                - 
                    --------------  -------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 H2 2023                62,369           478            4,358             363 
                    --------------  -------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 FY 2023                445,478         2,998           34,525           2,687 
------------------  --------------  -------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 

The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2022 and FY 2023:

 
 Quarter ended   Gold produced*     Silver     Gold sales**  Gold Sales 
                     (ounces)       produced*     (ounces)       price 
                                    (ounces)                   ($/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 
                  --------------  -----------  -------------  ---------- 
  30 September 
   2023               4,001          1,488         2,900        1,949 
  31 December 
   2023               2,975          1,610         2,416        2,004 
                  --------------  -----------  -------------  ---------- 
  H2 2023             6,976          3,098         5,316        1,974 
                  --------------  -----------  -------------  ---------- 
  FY 2023             20,316         9,532         15,822       1,951 
  --------------  --------------  -----------  -------------  ---------- 
 
  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 FY 2023 is as follows:

 
 Quarter                        Gold                               Silver 
  ended 
                  Agitation     Heap        Total     Agitation     Heap        Total 
                   leaching    leaching                leaching    leaching 
                   (ounces)    (ounces)    (ounces)    (ounces)    (ounces)    (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      11,149      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 
                 ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------- 
 30 Sept 2023         -         4,001       4,001         -         1,488       1,488 
 31 Dec 2023          -         2,975       2,975         -         1,610       1,610 
                 ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------- 
 H2 2023              -         6,976       6,976         -         3,098       3,098 
                 ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------- 
 FY 2023            5,568      14,748      20,316       2,812       6,720       9,532 
---------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------- 
 

The following table summarises copper concentrate production from both the Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2022 and FY 2023 :

 
                              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         191         26       8,750 
 Flotation                       4,544        665        762       11,095 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Total                           4,908        856        788       19,845 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Quarter ended 30 June 
 SART processing                  272         145         16       10,316 
 Flotation                       5,613        869        479       8,101 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Total                           5,885       1,014       495       18,417 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Quarter ended 30 September 
 SART processing                  85           43         4        2,194 
 Flotation                       1,316        207        151       1,974 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Total                           1,401        250        155       4,168 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Quarter ended 31 December 
 SART processing                  29           18         4        1,264 
 Flotation                         -           -          -          - 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Total                            29           18         4        1,264 
                             ------------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 

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 FY 2023. Note that sales of concentrates are initially recorded as 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 Sept 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        856        788       19,845       1,147          2,743 
 30 June 2023        5,885       1,014       495       18,417       5,501          7,678 
                 ------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------- 
 H1 2023            10,793       1,870      1,283      38,262       6,648         10,421 
                 ------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------- 
 30 Sept 2023        1,401        250        155       4,168        2,358          3,066 
 31 December 
  2023                29           18         4        1,264        2,186          2,306 
                 ------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------- 
 H2 2023             1,430        268        159       5,432        4,544          5,372 
                 ------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------- 
 FY 2023            12,223       2,138      1,442      43,694      11,192         15,793 
---------------  ------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ------------  -------------- 
 

Notes

* including Government of Azerbaijan's share

** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share

Cash and net debt at 31 December 2023

 
                                       US$m 
 Cash at bank (available for use)       4.3 
 Restricted cash (security for 
  borrowing)                            6.0 
----------------------------------  ------- 
      Total cash                       10.3 
----------------------------------  ------- 
 IBA - credit facility: 5.5 % 
  per annum                           (5.0) 
 IBA - revolving credit line: 
  6.5 % per annum                    (10.0) 
 Access bank: 0.5 % per month         (5.6) 
----------------------------------  ------- 
      Total debt                     (20.6) 
----------------------------------  ------- 
 Net cash / (debt)                   (10.3) 
----------------------------------  ------- 
 

**ENDS**

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