Foreign contractors of Azerbaijan gold mines to transfer assets

AzerGold CJSC will commence purchasing procedure of the assets of the foreign contractors that engaged in gold mining in the coming weeks.

The purchase will be carried out under the Production Sharing Agreement on the survey, research, exploration, and development of Garadagh, Chovdar, Geydag, Dagkesemen mines, Kohnemadan field and deposits of Kurekchay Basin located in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, Trend reported Zakir Ibrahimov, Chairman of the Board of AzerGold as saying in June 14.

At present, the CJSC is passing a state registration through the “single window” system of the Ministry of Taxes, he said, adding that simultaneously, the talks have been held with foreign companies on acquisition and disposal of the assets.

Ibrahimov underlined that the government will allocate funds to procure the stakes of the foreign contractors. Nevertheless, he thinks it is too early to speak about the cost of their assets.

After the purchase of the assets, the working program will be prepared for the development of the given deposits.

By the order of Azerbaijan’s President dated to May 25, 2016, AzerGold CJSC was instructed to ensure efficient management and survey, research, exploration and development of Garadagh, Chovdar, Geydag, Dagkesemen mines, Kohnemadan field and deposits of Kurekchay Basin after making a purchase.

After the realization of the purchase, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources will take the necessary steps to annul the agreement on the basis of the mutual agreement in accordance with Article 26.6 of the agreement.

Earlier, the agreement covering 30 years was ratified by the Azerbaijani Parliament on June 5, 2007.

Investments in the exploitation of the subsoil resources were expected to amount from $1 billion to $3.5 billion after the implementation of successful exploration works.

Azerbaijan’s share in the agreement is 30 percent of total revenue. Foreign contractors holding shares in the agreement are Londex Resources S.A., Will and Meyris S.A., Fargate Mining Corporation and Globex International LLP.

The aggregate potential of all fields available in Azerbaijan is estimated at about 1,500- 2,000 tons of pure gold. In 2015, the country produced 2,229 kilograms of gold.

First gold mining in the country began in Gadabey deposit in 2009.

Azerbaijan has increased its gold production and accelerated the exploration of new deposits during last years due to the upgraded base of drilling rigs, the use of new techniques and technologies and the efficiency of geological exploration work.

source: azernews.az