Anglo Asian Mining cuts gold production forecast for Azerbaijan

Anglo Asian Mining cuts gold production forecast for Azerbaijan
# 24 November 2020 15:58 (UTC +04:00)

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, decreased its FY 2020 production guidance to 68,000-72,000 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs"), APA-Economics reports citing the Company.

The reduction is mainly due to some delays in underground development, resulting from the conscription of a number of engineering staff, together with slowed tunnelling progress due to underground rock faulting. However, the Company can confirm that it is still on track to achieve turnover for FY 2020 of over $100 million.

Staff members who were conscripted due to the territorial dispute with Armenia are expected to return to work early next year after the military starts to demobilise. The Company's operations at Gedabek suffered no physical damage and are operating normally, which is a credit to the management and staff working under the pre-ceasefire conditions.

Now that a peace agreement has been signed, which appears to have ended the fighting in Azerbaijan, the Company will, in due course, inform the market on its plans for the three contract areas, included in the Company's 1997 Production Sharing Agreement with Azerbaijan, that are located within those areas that have now become accessible,” the company stated.

Anglo Asian CEO, Reza Vaziri, said "On reflection, this has been a challenging year for the Company. The difficulties started with the on-going restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The year is ending with a peace treaty in place between Azerbaijan and Armenia with international peace-keepers helping maintain the agreement.

"Despite all these headwinds, it is a testament to the entire workforce that the Company has continued in operation and remains on track to achieve a turnover of over 100 million dollars for the year, with a significantly strengthened balance sheet, whilst still paying dividends to shareholders."

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