Q4 and FY 2023 Production and Operations Review
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Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer primarily operating in Azerbaijan, is pleased to provide an operational and production review for the fourth quarter ("Q4 2023") and twelve months to 31 December 2023 ("FY 2023" or the "Period").
Production during the Period was significantly reduced due to operations being partially suspended as the Company and third-party contractors finalised the results of an environmental audit at its operations. An action plan was agreed with the Government of Azerbaijan on 7 November 2023, and the Company was pleased to restart mining at Gedabek in December 2023.
Production update
- Total FY 2023 production of 31,821 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs"), in the mid-range of the revised guidance of 30,000 to 34,000 GEOs (FY 2022: 57,618 GEOs)
- Q4 2023 production of 3,080 GEOs (Q4 2022: 14,532 GEOs)
Operational update
- Protocol agreed with the Government of Azerbaijan to restart operations following the partial environmental shut-down in Q3 2023
o Mining from the Gedabek open pit restarted in December 2023
o Operations now being ramped up with flotation production restarting in Q2 2024
- Production of gold doré and copper concentrate continued throughout Q4 2023 from heap leaching and SART processing
- Caterpillar underground mining fleet for the new Gilar mine delivered to Gedabek in early December 2023
- Gilar maiden JORC mineral resource confirmed meaningful quantities of copper and gold
o In-situ mineral resource of 54,000 tonnes of copper, 255,000 ounces of gold and 46,000 tonnes of zinc
- Gilar development continues with production planned to commence during Q3 2024
Cash and inventory update
- Net debt of $10.3 million at 31 December 2023 (30 September 2023: net cash of $1.6 million) with the following payment made in Q4 2023
o $4.7 million to Caterpillar for the underground mining fleet and associated equipment
§ Negotiations ongoing to refinance $3.7 million of the mining fleet purchase price with vendor financing
Gross cash of $10.3 million at 31 December 2023
o $15.0 million drawn down from International Bank of Azerbaijan under its revolving credit facility and loan agreements
o $5.6 million loan drawn down from Access Bank in August 2023
- The Company had inventory at market value of $7.1 million at 31 December 2023 (gold and silver bullion of $6.9 million and copper concentrate of $0.2 million)
- 1,000 ounces of gold bullion sold in Q4 2023 at an average price of $2,001 per ounce under the gold hedging programme, generating additional sales revenue of $44,000
o Total gold bullion sales in Q4 2023 of 2,416 ounces at an average of $2,004 per ounce
o 1,500 ounces of gold bullion was sold for $2,061.5 per ounce on 3 January 2024 yielding proceeds of $3.1 million
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented:
"Despite a number of challenges faced during the Period, we are pleased to announce production within our previously revised guidance range.
"In November, we were pleased to agree a protocol with the Government of Azerbaijan to restart our operations, and mining at our flagship Gedabek mine recommenced in December. We continue to make meaningful progress in restarting flotation production, which is on-track to begin from Q2 2024.
"The completion of a maiden JORC mineral resource for Gilar marked a milestone for the Company, confirming our internal estimates regarding the asset's potential and its ability to meaningfully contribute to our production portfolio in the years ahead. We were also pleased to announce the delivery of a new state-of-the-art underground mining fleet for Gilar from Caterpillar, the first deployment of this type of equipment in Azerbaijan.
"Looking ahead to 2024, we will continue to prioritise the development of our exciting asset portfolio in line with our growth strategy, while driving production from our existing mines. I look forward to updating the market on our progress in the coming months."
Note that all references to "$" are to United States dollars and "CAN$" are to Canadian dollars.
Production and sales overview
Q4 2023 production
- Total production of 3,080 GEOs (Q4 2022: 14,531 GEOs), comprising of:
o 2,979 ounces of gold (Q4 2022: 11,121 ounces):
§ 2,975 ounces contained within gold doré
§ 4 ounces from sulfidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening ("SART") processing
o 18 tonnes of copper (Q4 2022: 624 tonnes):
§ 18 tonnes from SART processing
o 2,874 ounces of silver (Q4 2022: 37,378 ounces):
§ 1,610 ounces contained within gold doré
§ 1,264 ounces from SART processing
FY 2023 production
- Total production of 31,821 GEOs (FY 2022: 57,618 GEOs), including:
o 21,758 ounces of gold (FY 2022: 43,114 ounces)
o 2,138 tonnes of copper (FY 2022: 2,516 tonnes)
o 53,226 ounces of silver (FY 2022: 182,046 ounces)
Q4 2023 Sales
- Q4 2023 gold bullion sales of 2,416 ounces at an average of $2,004 per ounce (Q4 2022: 13,645 ounces sold at an average of $1,727 per ounce)
- Q4 2023 copper concentrate shipments totalled 2,186 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") with a sales value of $2.3 million (excluding Government of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q4 2022: 4,606 dmt with a sales value of $7.5 million)
Gedabek - mining, detailed production and sales
The Company mined the following amounts and grades of ore in the 12 months to 31 December 2023:
| 9 months to 30 September 2023 | 3 months to 31 December 2023 | 12 months to 31 December 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mine | Ore mined | Average gold grade | Ore mined | Average gold grade | Ore mined | Average gold grade |
| (tonnes) | (g/t) | (tonnes) | (g/t) | (tonnes) | (g/t) | |
| Open pit | 1,079,302 | 0.35 | 101,393 | 0.69 | 1,180,695 | 0.38 |
| Gadir - u/g | 93,625 | 1.65 | 15,695 | 1.58 | 109,320 | 1.64 |
| Gedabek - u/g | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 1,172,927 | 0.67 | 117,088 | 0.81 | 1,290,015 | 0.49 |
The Company processed the following amounts and grades of ore by leaching for FY 2022 and FY 2023:
| Quarter ended | Ore processed | Gold grade of ore processed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heap leach pad crushed ore (tonnes) | Heap leach pad ROM ore (tonnes) | Agitation leaching plant* (tonnes) | Heap leach pad crushed ore (g/t) | Heap leach pad ROM ore (g/t) | Agitation leaching plant* (g/t) | |
| 31 March 2022 | 115,173 | 273,577 | 144,275 | 0.75 | 0.48 | 1.63 |
| 30 June 2022 | 82,814 | 299,762 | 162,239 | 0.78 | 0.53 | 1.40 |
| 30 September 2022 | 92,398 | 302,714 | 162,669 | 0.81 | 0.57 | 1.42 |
| 31 December 2022 | 24,606 | 213,120 | 156,285 | 0.72 | 0.56 | 1.42 |
| FY 2022 | 314,991 | 1,089,173 | 625,468 | 0.77 | 0.56 | 1.43 |
| 31 March 2023 | 94,518 | 196,595 | 62,006 | 0.74 | 0.49 | 1.3 |
| 30 June 2023 | 56,522 | 202,788 | 105,213 | 0.75 | 0.46 | 1.4 |
| H1 2023 | 151,040 | 399,383 | 167,219 | 0.75 | 0.49 | 1.4 |
| 30 September 2023 | 25,690 | 34,621 | - | 0.83 | 0.45 | - |
| 31 December 2023 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| H2 2023 | 25,690 | 34,621 | - | 0.83 | 0.45 | - |
| FY 2023 | 176,730 | 434,004 | 167,219 | 0.76 | 0.48 | 1.4 |
* includes previously heap leached ore
The Company processed the following amounts of ore and contained metal by flotation for FY 2022 and FY 2023:
| Quarter ended | Ore processed | Gold content | Silver content | Copper content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (tonnes) | (ounces) | (ounces) | (tonnes) | |
| 31 March 2022 | 104,475 | 1,921 | 33,522 | 577 |
| 30 June 2022 | 114,099 | 1,293 | 24,209 | 745 |
| 30 September 2022 | 143,838 | 1,314 | 24,582 | 724 |
| 31 December 2022 | 119,819 | 1,389 | 18,003 | 670 |
| FY 2022 | 482,231 | 5,917 | 100,316 | 2,716 |
| 31 March 2023 | 192,516 | 1,487 | 19,787 | 1,133 |
| 30 June 2023 | 190,593 | 1,033 | 10,380 | 1,191 |
| H1 2023 | 383,109 | 2,520 | 30,167 | 2,324 |
| 30 September 2023 | 62,369 | 478 | 4,358 | 363 |
| 31 December 2023 | - | - | - | - |
| H2 2023 | 62,369 | 478 | 4,358 | 363 |
| FY 2023 | 445,478 | 2,998 | 34,525 | 2,687 |
The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2022 and FY 2023:
Quarter ended Gold produced* (ounces) Silver produced* (ounces) Gold sales** (ounces) Gold Sales price ($/ounce) 31 March 2022 8,963 7,574 7,519 1,904 30 June 2022 10,137 7,620 3,754 1,895 30 September 2022 10,473 6,949 10,000 1,727 31 December 2022 10,437 4,820 13,645 1,727 FY 2022 40,010 26,963 34,918 1,783 31 March 2023 5,965 2,841 5,719 1,895 30 June 2023 7,375 3,593 4,787 1,992 H1 2023 13,340 6,434 10,506 1,939 30 September 2023 4,001 1,488 2,900 1,949 31 December 2023 2,975 1,610 2,416 2,004 H2 2023 6,976 3,098 5,316 1,974 FY 2023 20,316 9,532 15,822 1,951 Note
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share
** excluding Government of Azerbaijan's share
The gold and silver production from agitation and heap leaching for FY 2022 and FY 2023 is as follows:
| Quarter ended | Gold | Silver | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agitation leaching (ounces) | Heap leaching (ounces) | Total (ounces) | Agitation leaching (ounces) | Heap leaching (ounces) | Total (ounces) | |
| 31 March 2022 | 5,674 | 3,289 | 8,963 | 4,803 | 2,771 | 7,574 |
| 30 June 2022 | 6,196 | 3,941 | 10,137 | 4,654 | 2,966 | 7,620 |
| 30 Sept 2022 | 5,517 | 4,956 | 10,473 | 3,673 | 3,276 | 6,949 |
| 31 Dec 2022 | 5,831 | 4,606 | 10,437 | 2,684 | 2,136 | 4,820 |
| FY 2022 | 23,218 | 16,792 | 40,010 | 15,814 | 11,149 | 26,963 |
| 31 March 2023 | 2,105 | 3,860 | 5,965 | 1,077 | 1,764 | 2,841 |
| 30 June 2023 | 3,463 | 3,912 | 7,375 | 1,735 | 1,858 | 3,593 |
| H1 2023 | 5,568 | 7,772 | 13,340 | 2,812 | 3,622 | 6,434 |
| 30 Sept 2023 | - | 4,001 | 4,001 | - | 1,488 | 1,488 |
| 31 Dec 2023 | - | 2,975 | 2,975 | - | 1,610 | 1,610 |
| H2 2023 | - | 6,976 | 6,976 | - | 3,098 | 3,098 |
| FY 2023 | 5,568 | 14,748 | 20,316 | 2,812 | 6,720 | 9,532 |
The following table summarises copper concentrate production from both the Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY 2022 and FY 2023:
| Concentrate | Copper | Gold | Silver | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| production* | content* | content* | content* | |
| (dmt) | (tonnes) | (ounces) | (ounces) | |
| 2022 | ||||
| Quarter ended 31 March | ||||
| SART processing | 330 | 188 | 12 | 25,114 |
| Flotation | 2,586 | 380 | 1,065 | 17,986 |
| Total | 2,916 | 568 | 1,077 | 43,100 |
| Quarter ended 30 June | ||||
| SART processing | 316 | 168 | 14 | 25,582 |
| Flotation | 3,811 | 547 | 715 | 15,672 |
| Total | 4,127 | 715 | 729 | 41,254 |
| Quarter ended 30 September | ||||
| SART processing | 367 | 208 | 33 | 24,077 |
| Flotation | 2,805 | 401 | 581 | 14,094 |
| Total | 3,172 | 609 | 614 | 38,171 |
| Quarter ended 31 December | ||||
| SART processing | 438 | 244 | 39 | 20,833 |
| Flotation | 2,648 | 380 | 645 | 11,725 |
| Total | 3,086 | 624 | 684 | 32,558 |
| 2023 | ||||
| Quarter ended 31 March | ||||
| SART processing | 364 | 191 | 26 | 8,750 |
| Flotation | 4,544 | 665 | 762 | 11,095 |
| Total | 4,908 | 856 | 788 | 19,845 |
| Quarter ended 30 June | ||||
| SART processing | 272 | 145 | 16 | 10,316 |
| Flotation | 5,613 | 869 | 479 | 8,101 |
| Total | 5,885 | 1,014 | 495 | 18,417 |
| Quarter ended 30 September | ||||
| SART processing | 85 | 43 | 4 | 2,194 |
| Flotation | 1,316 | 207 | 151 | 1,974 |
| Total | 1,401 | 250 | 155 | 4,168 |
| Quarter ended 31 December | ||||
| SART processing | 29 | 18 | 4 | 1,264 |
| Flotation | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 29 | 18 | 4 | 1,264 |
Note
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share.
The following table summarises total copper concentrate production and sales for FY 2022 and FY 2023. Note that sales of concentrates are initially recorded as provisional amounts until agreement of final assay.
| Concentrate | Copper | Gold | Silver | Concentrate | Concentrate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| production* | content* | content* | content* | sales** | sales** | |
| (dmt) | (tonnes) | (ounces) | (ounces) | (dmt) | ($000) | |
| Quarter ended | ||||||
| 31 March 2022 | 2,916 | 568 | 1,077 | 43,100 | 1,477 | 3,248 |
| 30 June 2022 | 4,127 | 715 | 729 | 41,254 | 4,642 | 8,127 |
| 30 Sept 2022 | 3,172 | 609 | 614 | 38,171 | 1,718 | 3,378 |
| 31 December 2022 | 3,086 | 624 | 684 | 32,558 | 4,606 | 7,487 |
| FY 2022 | 13,301 | 2,516 | 3,104 | 155,083 | 12,443 | 22,240 |
| 31 March 2023 | 4,908 | 856 | 788 | 19,845 | 1,147 | 2,743 |
| 30 June 2023 | 5,885 | 1,014 | 495 | 18,417 | 5,501 | 7,678 |
| H1 2023 | 10,793 | 1,870 | 1,283 | 38,262 | 6,648 | 10,421 |
| 30 Sept 2023 | 1,401 | 250 | 155 | 4,168 | 2,358 | 3,066 |
| 31 December 2023 | 29 | 18 | 4 | 1,264 | 2,186 | 2,306 |
| H2 2023 | 1,430 | 268 | 159 | 5,432 | 4,544 | 5,372 |
| FY 2023 | 12,223 | 2,138 | 1,442 | 43,694 | 11,192 | 15,793 |
Notes
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share
** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share
Cash and net debt at 31 December 2023
US$m
| Cash at bank (available for use) | 4.3 |
| Restricted cash (security for borrowing) | 6.0 |
| Total cash | 10.3 |
| IBA - credit facility: 5.5 % per annum | (5.0) |
| IBA - revolving credit line: 6.5 % per annum | (10.0) |
| Access bank: 0.5 % per month | (5.6) |
| Total debt | (20.6) |
| Net cash / (debt) | (10.3) |
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