Anglo Asian Mining PLC (AIM: AAZ) is an established and sustainable mining business with a portfolio of copper, gold and silver production assets in western Azerbaijan. It also has a very active exploration programme.

Anglo Asian is expanding internationally and made its first investment outside of Azerbaijan with the acquisition of a strategic interest in Libero Copper & Gold Corporation in late 2021.

The Company is profitable, debt free and pays regular dividends to its shareholders. Anglo Asian Mining operates gold, silver and copper producing properties in Azerbaijan and has a very active minerals exploration programme. Its mining concessions (“Contract Areas”) were granted under a production sharing agreement (“PSA”) with the Government of Azerbaijan. The Company’s operations are located on the Tethyan Tectonic Belt, one of the world’s most significant gold bearing trends.

Gold was first produced in May 2009 from its open-pit mine at Gedabek with underground mining commencing in 2015. The Company has a further underground mine at its Gosha Contract Area located 50 kilometres north-west of Gedabek.

Gold, copper and silver mined at Gedabek and Gosha are processed by both heap and agitation leaching and flotation at the Gedabek site to produce Gold doré and copper concentrate.

Anglo Asian was originally granted six Contract Areas in Azerbaijan under a Production Sharing Agreement (“PSA”) with the Government of Azerbaijan dated 20 August 1997. The PSA was subsequently amended by the Government of Azerbaijan on 5 July 2022. The amended PSA in 2022 granted Anglo Asian three additional Contract Areas (Garadagh, Xarxar and Demirli) and relinquished the Soutely Contract Area granted in 1997. Anglo Asian now has eight Contract Areas covering 2,544 square kilometres in western Azerbaijan. There is currently no access to the Kyzlbulag and Demirli Contract Areas in the Karabakh Economic Region due to the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region.

The Group has a very active exploration programme at its Gedabek, Gosha and Ordubad Contract Areas. The Group has been successful at finding deposits and rapidly developed the Ugur open-pit which it discovered at Gedabek. Zafar, a major copper discovery was made in 2021 at Gedabek and mine planning is now underway.

In January 2022, Anglo Asian completed its first investment outside of Azerbaijan acquiring 19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation which owns several copper exploration properties in North and South America including Mocoa in Colombia, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-molybdenum resources.

Tethyan Tectonic Belt

Anglo Asian Mining PLC’s assets are located within one of the world’s significant gold and copper bearing trends, the Tethyan Tectonic Belt, which extends from Pakistan to the Balkans running through Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

The major operating mines within the Tethyan Tectonic Belt contain porphyry copper deposits that are some of the largest sources of copper in the world and also yield significant quantities of gold and molybdenum.

Major copper, gold and molybdenum deposits in the belt include:

  • Sar Chesmeh & Sungun (500 mt at 0.75% Cu, 0.01% Mo) in Iran.
  • Kadjaran (400 mt at 0.27% Cu, 0.055% Mo, 0.03 g/t Au) & Agarak (45 mt at 0.46% Cu, 0.027% Mo, 0.025 g/t Au) in Armenia.
  • Tekhout & Zod (4.3 mt at 7.3 g/t Au) in Armenia.
  • Cayeli (20 mt at 4.2% Cu, 0.8 g/t Au) and Cerateppe (3 mt at 5.1% Cu) in Turkey.
  • Madneuli (23.5 mt at 1.03 g/t Au) in Georgia.

Exploration and development activities remain a key priority. In January 2021, the company announced the discovery of Zafar, a new copper-gold deposit at Gedabek, and the Company is focused on bringing the deposit into operation as soon as possible. In September 2021, Anglo Asian announced it has been awarded three new concession areas bordering the Gedabek and Kyzlbulag contract areas. Developing these is key to the company’s growth strategy and aim to become a mid-tier copper and gold producer.