Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ) has announced that the company’s Vejnaly project, which lies in territory previously occupied by Armenia, has now been restored to the control of the Azerbaijan government.
Vejnaly is in the Zangilan district of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenia since 1994.
The Zangilan district is a mineral-rich district in the south-west of Azerbaijan. Under the terms of the company's existing production sharing agreement, the company has been granted the right to exploit Vejnaly, which is close to the villages of Amirkhanly and Aghband.
The contract area covers approximately 300 square kilometres and contains the Vejnaly deposit which contains 6.5 tonnes of gold in the C1 and C2 categories.
Vejnaly is held under the company's existing PSA. However, the PSA will only commence in respect of Vejnaly upon notification by the government of Azerbaijan to the company of the cessation of all hostilities and that it is safe to access the district. T
This notification will, therefore "reset" the PSA to year zero for contract areas in the occupied territories. Accordingly, the company then has the right to explore the contract area for up to five years and then develop and produce for 15 years with two five-year extensions allowed.
There has been exploitation of the natural resources in the Zangilan district during the Armenian occupation and conflicting reports on whether minimal mining has been carried out at Vejanly.
However, the company said its best information is that the Vejnaly deposit has had limited exploitation. It is the intention of the Government of Azerbaijan to thoroughly inspect and assess the mineral resources in the area.