Anglo Asian Mining Plc (LON:AAZ) has completed the second phase of its drilling campaign at the Ugur gold deposit in Western Azerbaijan, where first production is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.
Anglo Asian’s 2017 production target remains in the range of 64,000 to 72,000 ounces of gold, but the source of this production will temporarily change as Ugur comes on stream: mining operations at the Gedabek open pit will simultaneously be scaled back till the end of the year to allow for a greater focus on existing stockpiles.
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"As a result of the accelerated work programme conducted at Ugur over recent months, we are on track to deliver a JORC reserve and ore extraction plan in Q3 2017 - less than a year after the deposit's initial discovery,” said Reza Vaziri, Anglo Asian’s chief executive.
“As a production company with multiple mines, both open pit and underground, the Ugur deposit will be an important new component of our evolving production portfolio. We look forward to seeing the results of our optimisation efforts in 2018 when full production recommences at Gedabek."
Ore production has also been stopped from the Gadir underground mine to allow development and exploration drilling. Any ore mined from Gadir during this exploration development phase will be stockpiled for production in the fourth quarter.