Azerbaijan-focused miner Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ) saw a slow-down in gold production due to weather and geology in the first quarter but an uplift in copper and gold output.
It was the first full quarter of production from the small flotation plant installed at the end of last year, and the firm is looking forward to ramping up output from this facility in the months ahead.
From the Gedabek mine, It is targeting to produce a total of between 73,000 and 77,000 ounces of the yellow metal for the year ahead, including around 4-5,000 ounces from the plant.
Chief executive Reza Vaziri told investors: "Following record gold production in 2015 when we produced 72,032 ounces of gold, the first quarter of 2016 has unfortunately seen a slow-down in production.
"Ordinarily, the first quarter of the year has always had lower production due to the difficult winter weather conditions.
"However, the harder rock that has been encountered together with its lower grade has also further lowered production compared to the previous quarter.
"To combat this harder rock, we have contracted for a second SAG mill to be installed in the agitation leach plant and we expect the SAG mill to be operational in Q3 2016."
For the three months to end March the firm produced 14,172 ounced of gold, compared to 17,930 ounces in the fourth quarter.
Copper came in at 432 tonnes, versus 335 tonnes in the previous quarter, while silver output almost doubled in the three months, coming in at 34,342 ounces compared to 17,710 in Q4.
The miner is targeting copper output for the year of between 1,700 tonnes and 2,100 tonnes.
In terms of gold doré sales for the quarter, the group sold 12,058 ounces at an average of $1,184 per ounce , compared to 15,759 ounces at an average of $1,108 per ounce last quarter.
Vaziri also highlighted the 16% rise in the gold price in the first quarter - the metal's best performance in 30 years.
"We look forward to seeing this positively impact our revenues in quarter two and beyond as we continue on our path to build a mid-tier gold and copper producer in Azerbaijan," he said.