Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Caravel Minerals, an Australian mineral exploration company, is discussing possibilities of developing mineral deposits in the north-west of Azerbaijan, CEO of the company Marcel Hilmer told Trend.
“I’ve been in discussions with representatives of the state-owned company AzerGold. The company is managing a number of projects and we discuss possibilities of participating in some of those projects in the north-west of Azerbaijan and other places,” Hilmer said.
According to him, the company won’t produce gold or other metals but will develop mining projects and bring them into production.
“There are many opportunities for Caravel Minerals and other foreign companies to come and work here,” he added.
AzerGold was established by the Feb. 11, 2015 decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. It is engaged in study, exploration, development and management of gold and iron-ore sites, such as Garadagh, Chovdar, Goydag, Dagkasaman, the Kohnamadan deposit and the Kurakchay area.
Currently, the only producer of gold, copper and silver in Azerbaijan is the Anglo Asian Mining PLC (AAM). Based on a production sharing agreement signed with Azerbaijani government in August 1997, AAM has the right to develop six fields in the southwest of Azerbaijan – Gadabay, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gizil Bulag, Vejnali and Soyutlu.
The gold produced at the fields is sent to Switzerland for purification. The ingots are then delivered to Azerbaijan and stored in the government's account.