AzerGold CJSC Held a Press Conference Dedicated to the 2023 Results and Upcoming Tasks

On January 30, AzerGold Closed Joint-Stock Company (CJSC) held a press conference dedicated to the 2023 results and upcoming tasks.

Chairman of the Board of AzerGold CJSC Zakir Ibrahimov, CEO of Dashkasan Iron Ore LLC Jeyhun Aliyev, and Executive Director of AzerBlast LLC Rizvan Bakhshiyev attended the event.

In his introductory speech at the press conference, the Chairman of the Board of AzerGold CJSC extensively reported the work done in 2023 by the Joint-Stock Company in the fields of production, sale, and export of precious metals, geological exploration, the creation of new production facilities, staff training, employment, environmental policy, corporate social responsibility, etc. It was noted that against the background of the comprehensive development of our country, 2023 was a memorable and fruitful year for AzerGold. On one of the most special days for the Joint-Stock Company, February 11, 2023 - the 8th anniversary of its establishment by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, rock blasting was first performed in the Tulallar gold deposit. Also, two large production infrastructure projects were successfully implemented in the Ganja-Dashkasan economic region. One of them is the Carbon-in-Leach Plant in the Chovdar Integrated Regional Processing Area (CIRPA), and another is subsidiary AzerBlast LLC’s Industrial Explosives Production Plant. Both plants were commissioned in test mode on December 28 last year.

In the reporting year, production indicators amounted to 63.7 thousand Oz of gold. This is the highest annual figure during the period of activity. Herewith, 114.3 thousand Oz of silver were produced last year. Thus, gold and silver production exceeded the plan by 2 and 6%, respectively. Compared to 2022, an increase of 1.7 thousand Oz (3%) in gold production was recorded in 2023. The production plan for 2024 is 70 thousand Oz of gold and 156.8 thousand Oz of silver, which is 9 and 27% more than for the reporting year, respectively.

In 2023, the positive dynamics of the precious metal sales revenue continued. In the reporting year, a total of 68.1 thousand Oz of gold and 119.8 thousand Oz of silver were sold in local and international markets. Compared to 2022, a 7% increase in the total gold sales was recorded. Of the said total sales, 62.1 thousand Oz of gold and 90.8 thousand Oz of silver were sold in international markets. According to the domestic market demand, 6 thousand Oz of gold and 29.1 thousand Oz of silver were sold as raw materials and finished products. Thus, the total sales for 2017-2023 made up 416 thousand Oz of gold and 853 thousand Oz of silver.

In the reporting year, revenue of AZN 232.8 mln was obtained from the sale of gold and silver in the international and local markets. Compared to 2022, a 15% increase in total sales revenue was recorded. Of them, exports account for AZN 210.1 mln while domestic sales make up AZN 22.7 mln. Export and domestic sales revenues increased by, respectively, 11 and 81% compared to 2022. In 2023, 97.9% of the total valuable metal sales revenue was obtained from the sale of gold. Thus, the total gold and silver sales revenue for 2017-2023 amounted to AZN 1.19 billion.

Z. İbrahimov also talked about AzerGold CJSC’s geological exploration activity aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of the rich raw mineral potential of our republic and contributing to the country’s socioeconomic development. He said that in the reporting year, active geophysical and geological exploration was performed in Dashkasan, Goygol, Balakan, Kalbajar, as well as the Julfa region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. It was noted that in 2024, the geological exploration areas were further expanded, and the wide implementation of innovative technologies started to shortly obtain initial results of exploration in larger areas.

Later, in his speech, the CEO of Dashkasan Iron Ore LLC Jeyhun Aliyev talked about the preparations for the operation of Dashkasan iron ore deposits and the ongoing work on creating an iron production chain. It was noted that the relatively low iron content in the ore rocks of the Dashkasan iron ore deposits (40% on average) necessitates enriching them to at least 67%. To do this, the construction of the Processing Plant for the manufacture of 67% iron concentrate is planned as the initial stage of the production chain. In the next stage, an infrastructure for the production of pellets containing 67% iron - a DRI Plant - will be built to ensure the mechanical and chemical suitability of the enriched concentrate as a raw material. The intermediate product pellet will then be directed to the HBI Plant to produce HBI with 95% iron content.

Global trends have been considered to ensure compliance of plants with the latest environmental requirements starting from the design stage. HBI technology allows for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 60% compared to the conventional approach.

It was added that considering the high investment value of the project (AZN 1.7 billion), AzerGold CJSC is currently negotiating investments in the process with some large potential partners to avoid the additional burden on the state budget. Upon assessing the proposals and conditions of all interested parties, the project will be implemented in the most favorable way for our country and people.

At the press conference, the Executive Director of AzerBlast LLC Rizvan Bakhshiyev informed of the test operation of the Industrial Explosives Production Plant built last year in Ganja. It was noted that the plant with an estimated annual production capacity of 31.5 thousand tons was built based on the latest production technologies according to high safety and environmental standards. The enterprise manufactures ANFO and Heavy ANFO explosives used, in particular, in mining and construction industries. It was reported that at the initial operation stage, considering local demand and export potential, the plant will produce 14 thousand tons of explosives annually. Considering the existing mining potential of Karabakh and East Zangezur, large-scale construction projects, as well as the export potential of the produced substances, it is planned to increase the plant’s annual production to a maximum of 31.5 thousand tons in the coming years.

At the end of the event, the Chairman of the Board of AzerGold CJSC Z. Ibrahimov provided information on the action plans for the sustainable development of mining in our country in the coming years and answered numerous questions from media representatives.