Baku, Azerbaijan, July 19
By Zulfiyya Gurbanova - Trend:
Anglo-Asian Mining PLC (AAM), the producer of gold in Azerbaijan, produced 15,736 ounces of gold extracted in the "Gadabay" complex ore in the second quarter of the year. This represents a 39 percent increase over the first quarter, the company reported.
For comparison, the AAM produced 11,318 ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2014.
The company sold 13,142 ounces at an average price of $,1292 per ounce, during the reported period. For comparison - the figure was 10,403 ounces at an average price of $1,303 per ounce in the first quarter of this year.
Some 8,785 ounces of silver (some 465 ounces of which were produced by agitation leaching, 1,928 ounces - heap leaching, 6,392 ounces - by SART method) was produced in the second quarter of 2014. For comparison - some 13,139 ounces of silver was produced in the first quarter of the year.
In total, the company produced 27,054 ounces of gold and 21,924 ounces of silver in the first half of 2014.
AAM`s CEO Reza Vaziri noted a significant increase in the production of gold and silver in the second quarter of this year.
"Despite the slow pace of production in the first half of this year, we are now observing increase in production volumes on "Gadabay" complex ore," he noted, expressing hope that the company's initiatives on the reduction costs will improve the results in the second half of the year.
In May, the AAM and Swiss group Industrial Minerals SA signed an agreement for the sale of concentrate copper produced at the "Gadabay" field.
The agreement was signed for a period of three years. The contract provides for the purchase of copper concentrate of Swiss company. The production of 595 tonnes of copper is projected in the Gadabay field in 2014.
The copper production by SART method made up 228 tonnes in the second quarter of the year, which was 62 percent more than in the first quarter (141 tonnes). Some 369 tonnes of copper was produced in January-June.
In 2013, the sales volumes of "Gadabay" copper field reached $6.6 million.
Industrial Minerals will purchase both dry and wet copper concentrate. The AAM has reserves of 75 tonnes of dry and 550 tonnes of wet copper concentrate, ready for sale.
The resource base of the company exceeds 36 tonnes of gold, 292 tonnes of silver and 94.000 tonnes of copper. The largest field developed by Anglo-Asian Mining, is the Gadabay complex ore. The first gold and silver were mined there in May 2009 and the production of copper concentrate has been carried out since 2010.
Company's gold production for 2013 ended on 31 December 2013, totalling 52,068 oz.
The gold produced at the mines is sent for treatment in Switzerland. The ingots are brought to Azerbaijan and stored on the government's account.