Anglo Asian Mining PLC (AIM:AAZ, OTC:AGXKF) said the portal to the Gilar mine in Azerbaijan has been completed and underground tunnelling is now underway to access the mineral deposit.
The underground tunnel will access the lower zone of mineralisation and will enable further exploration drilling from depth, followed in due course by production via the tunnel.
"The Gilar project is an exciting addition to the company's portfolio and the commencement of the tunnelling puts the mine into development,” said Anglo Asian vice-president Stephen Westhead in a statement.
“We are delighted with the progress being achieved at Gilar, and surface drilling has so far yielded visually significant intercepts. The company looks forward to reporting the results of the assaying and analysis in due course," he added.
Gilar, located in the Gedabek contract area about 7 kilometres from the company's processing facilities, hosts two styles of mineralisation - gold in quartz veins and hydrothermal gold-copper.
The Gilar deposit contains over 135,000 ounces of gold, 21,500 tonnes of copper and 23,000 tonnes of zinc, according to a preliminary maiden resource estimate released by the company last month.