Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.25 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
Gold reserves in Azerbaijan today hit about 250 kilograms, Finance Minister Samir Sharifov told journalists.
"Gold reserves in Azerbaijan amount to about 250 kilograms, and their volume is constantly growing. The Anglo Asian Mining company has the right to develop gold fields in the country, and the state receives certain part of the mined gold," he said.
According to him, the gold mined in the fields is sent to Switzerland for treatment. The gold bars are imported into Azerbaijan and stored in a special account of the government.
"We do not get a batch less than 100 kilograms of gold, so the next batch will be received after sending sufficient amount of gold for treatment," the minister said.
Anglo Asian Mining Plc. owns the rights to develop six fields in southwest Azerbaijan, including Gedabek, Ordubad, Gosha Bulag, Gizil Bulag, Vejnali and Soyutlu. The concession is based on PSA agreements signed with the Azerbaijani government in Aug. 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.
Gold and silver were first discovered through mining in Gedabek in May 2009. In general, plans cover mining more than 300 million ounces of gold on the field before 2015.
As a result of the fourth quarter of last year, gold production reached a record volume - 19,555 ounces, thanks to which during a year the company produced 67,267 ounces, which is 60,000 ounces more than the forecasted indicators.
The weighted average of gold sale for the fourth quarter amounted to $1,371 per ounce, and in total 17,420 ounces was sold. Last year, the average of gold sale was $1,241, and within a year 57,398 ounces were sold.