Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 25 / Trend T.Hajiyev /
New fields of gold and platinum have been found in Azerbaijan, Ecology and and Natural Resources Minister Huseyngulu Bagirov told journalists on Saturday.
"Our geologists discovered a rich field of gold. According to recent reports, there is evidence of the presence of platinum and other precious metals in the Shamkir field," he said. "This is a concrete contribution. These riches were found, and in the future they will bring multi-million dollar revenues to Azerbaijan. "
The Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee reported that 1.7 tons of gold and a ton of silver was produced in the country in January-November of 2010.
Anglo Asian Mining Plc is the only gold producer in Azerbaijan. The company owns the rights to develop six fields in south-west Azerbaijan at Gedabey, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gizil Bulag, Vejnali and Soyutlu. The concession is based on PSA agreements signed with the Azerbaijani government in August 1997.According to the contract, it is planned to produce about 400 tons of gold, 2,500 tons of silver and 1.5 million tons of copper at the fields.
The first gold and silver were extracted at Gedabey mine in May 2009. In general, it is planned to produce over 300,000 ounces of gold at Gedabey field before 2015.