Anglo Asian Mining reports a significant decline in its metals production in the third quarter, following temporary halts at its key operational sites.
Production Hit by Operational Halt
In a stark contrast to its performance in the same period last year, Anglo Asian Mining disclosed a substantial dip in its gold, copper, and silver outputs in the third quarter. The production decrease, most notably seen in gold dropping to 5,295 gold-equivalent ounces from last year's 14,309 ounces, was primarily due to a standstill in operations at its Gedabek mine amidst an environmental assessment.
Operations at Gedabek were under suspension as authorities conducted a rigorous environmental review. The clearance came last month with findings indicating no significant environmental violations. Despite the positive outcome, the mine's flotation processing and agitation leaching operations have remained offline since early August, awaiting formal clearance and protocols from the Azerbaijan government for full operational resumption.
Concurrently, copper output suffered a decline to 251 metric tons from the previous 609 tons, and silver production experienced a downturn, standing at 5,696 ounces, a steep fall from last year's 45,063 ounces.
Sales Dip, Yet Prices Favorable
The company also encountered a slowdown in its gold bullion sales for the quarter, though the cloud had a silver lining with a higher average realization price per ounce. Specifically, Anglo Asian Mining sold 2,900 ounces at an encouraging average of $1,949 per ounce, a noticeable climb compared to the average of $1,727 for the 10,000 ounces sold in the same quarter of the preceding year.
In light of the recent operational hurdles, the company stands by its revised annual production forecast, anticipating gold-equivalent ounce outputs ranging between 30,000 and 40,000 for the full year, aligning with its strategic adjustments following the production challenges encountered this quarter.
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