Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept.19. / Trend N. Ismayilova /
Anglo Asian Mining plc, the gold producer in Azerbaijan, produced 1,409 ounces at Gedabek during August 2009, the company said.
The Company produced 1,409 ounces ('oz') and sold 1,229 oz of gold ('Au') at Gedabek during August 2009. Gold sales were completed at an average of $977, ahead of the Company's forecast projections, the same source added.
Additionally, 700 oz Au has been produced from 1-8 September 2009 and has now been shipped to the refinery where 546 oz Au has been sold.
The Company is now projected to produce 2,200 oz of Au for the month ending 30 September 2009 which is broadly inline with management's expectations. However, due to start-up problems at the processing facility, including the operational consistency of the secondary and tertiary crushers and issues with the leach pad, October 2009 production forecasts of 3,300 oz of Au may be affected.
During August 2009, 34,000 tonnes of dry ore with an average gold content of 4 g/t was crushed and transferred to the leach pad, which was below the forecast of 50,000 tonnes at 3g/t. The Company expects to gradually ramp this up to 60,000 tonnes by November 2009 and will seek to make further increases during 2010.
To deliver lower operational costs, improve the plant's performance and attain production targets of 4,000 oz of Au per month and circa 50,000 oz of Au for the first 12 months of operations, the Company has put a number of initiatives in place. These include the purchase of two cone crushers complete with spare parts, which the Company believes will have significantly superior performance levels than the existing crushers.
Anglo Asian is also planning longer-term plant modifications and improvements and is currently in discussions with various major crusher/stacker suppliers in the USA and Europe with a view to expanding production and improving efficiencies.
Under the PSA agreement signed with the Azerbaijani government, the Anglo Asian Mining PLC has the right to develop six fields in the south-west of Azerbaijan - Gedabek, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gizil Bulag, Vejnali and Soyutlu.
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