13 March 2023

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Significant copper mineralisation identified at Xarxar

Development of Geological Block Model and Open Pit Mining Study are underway

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer primarily focused in Azerbaijan, is pleased to announce it has identified significant copper mineralisation at Xarxar. An initial exploration model of the mineralisation has been prepared. A geological block model and open pit mining study are currently being developed and will be published in the coming weeks.

Anglo Asian has identified significant mineralisation at the Xarxar mineral deposit by an in-depth review and verification of data acquired from AzerGold CJSC and in-house geological field work. This gives the Company confidence that the Xarxar deposit contains significant copper mineralisation.

AzerGold CJSC drilled 15 core drill holes at Xarxar with a total length of 4,923 metres. Three of the drill holes (totalling 1,140 metres) had been sampled and assayed by AzerGold CJSC. Geological core logging, sampling and assaying of the remaining drill core has been conducted by Anglo Asian. The Company has also reviewed other information acquired from AzerGold CJSC which included geochemical and geophysical data together with maps and interpretative reports.

The Company commenced a core drilling programme at Xarxar immediately following its acquisition. It has also constructed a portal and is developing an exploration tunnel towards the ore body.

Anglo Asian Vice-President, Stephen Westhead commented: "We are very excited about the acquisition of Xarxar and the potential copper that it can bring to the Anglo Asian production pipeline. Surface drilling and underground exploration tunnelling is ongoing, and the Company looks forward to reporting the results soon.  Metallurgical testwork is under way to assess the processing options. The Xarxar Contract Area has very good exploration potential with both known mineral occurrences and targets identified by the previously conducted ZTEM survey." 

About the Xarxar Contract Area

The Xarxar contract area borders the Gedabek contract area to the north, east and west and the two contract areas are contiguous. Xarxar hosts the Xarxar deposit and multiple other mineral occurrences. A map of the Xarxar and Gedabek contract areas is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Gedabek and Xarxar Contract Area boundaries showing the position of ongoing projects.

An initial exploration model of the mineralisation has been prepared which will be dynamically updated. A section through the exploration model showing the geometry of the Xarxar deposit is exhibited in figure 2.

Figure 2: Section through the 3D exploration model of the Xarxar deposit

The mineralisation including the recent drilling is hosted within a zone that is over 500 metres in the broadly east-west direction by about 290 metres in the north-south direction. Mineralisation is exposed at surface in some areas, but the upper contact ranges from 25 metres to 115 metres from the surface and continues to a depth of over 500 metres. The model is based on a cut-off of 0.2 per cent. copper.

The structural positioning of the mineral-forming process was largely controlled by a north-east striking fault system, where a 300 x 300 metre quartz-diorite-porphyry stock is in direct contact with the metasomatite host rock.

The mineralisation is copper-dominant and comprises mainly oxides and secondary sulphides, with minerals such as malachite, azurite, pyrite, chalcocite and bornite, together with some primary chalcopyrite as common minerals in the deposit, and minor barite and magnetite minerals are also recorded. The main copper mineralisation lenses are located in the central part of the Xarxar deposit, with approximate east-west orientations. The depth of oxide, transition and sulphide zones is being studied.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, which was incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.

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Competent Person Statement

The information in the announcement that relates to exploration results, minerals resources and ore reserves is based on information compiled by Dr Stephen Westhead, who is a full-time employee of Anglo Asian Mining with the position of Vice-President, who is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London, a Chartered Geologist, Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Stephen Westhead has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Stephen Westhead consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Stephen Westhead has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a "competent person" as defined by the AIM rules. Stephen Westhead has reviewed the mineral resources included in this announcement.

Notice to editors

Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer in south-west Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company produced 57,618 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2022.  

In December 2021, the Company undertook a private placement which acquired 19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). Libero is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and owns, or has the option to acquire, several copper exploration properties in North and South America, including Mocoa in Colombia, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-molybdenum resources. Two further follow-on investments have been made in Libero to maintain the Company's shareholding at 19.8 per cent.

On 5 July 2022, the Parliament of Azerbaijan ratified amendments to the Company's Production Sharing Agreement, which granted it legal title to three additional concessions with a combined area of 882 square kilometres, including the Garadagh porphyry copper deposit, with a Soviet classified resource of over 300,000 tonnes of copper. https://www.angloasianmining.com/