Anglo Asian Mining Plc’s (LON:AAZ) hailed a doubling of copper production last year though it undershot its gold target.
Grade issues continued to affect the Gedabek mine in Azerbaijan and the miner produced 15,483 ounces in the three months to December.
That made just under 65,400 oz for the year or some 9% lower than 2015.
Anglo added it achieved a gold price of $1,227 per ounce for the final quarter and US$1,253 per ounce on average for the year
Copper production doubled though and chief executive Reza Vaziri said this was one of Anglo Asian’s achievements of last year.
Some 1,941 tonnes of copper were produced along with 165,000 oz of silver.
Vazari also noted the connection of Gedabek to the national grid in Azerbaijan in November, which was a major development as it would cut energy costs at the mine significantly.
Net debt at the year end was US$35.1mln, with Vazari extending his loan to the company for another year.
“Having made a gold discovery at Ugur, only three kilometres from our Gedabek processing facilities, we are excited to have commenced a significant exploration programme which is already yielding potential new sources of ore,” he added.
Shares rose 5% to 23.2p.
