BAKU

AzerGold, Azerbaijan’s state-owned gold-producing company, plans to start studying the promising ore structure of Tutkhun in the Kelbajar region on the border with Armenia as a part of the country’s plan to develop the mining industry in regions recaptured during the 44-day war with Armenian forces last autumn.

Baku expects more gold output at deposits in the territories previously occupied by Armenian forces. The government is spending millions of dollars for infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions returned to central government control one year ago.

AzerGold signed a contract with  local company BINSOFT to conduct research using hyperspectral imagery from the satellite of the promising Tutkhun structure, the state portal tender.gov.az reported. The deposit may contain gold, copper and other precious metals. The works are estimated at 595,502 manats ($350,200).

The prospective structure is a part of the Tutkhunsky ore site, which belongs to the Zod-Tutkhunsky geological ore region. In the Soviet era, gold deposits of Agzibir, Giziliten, Garbi Giziliten, Gazikhanly, Galaboynu, Tutkhun, Zargulu, Orujlu, Yeni Galaboynu were identified and studied at the Tutkhun ore site.

Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, said earlier this year that the government had begun preparations for court proceedings to recover compensation from foreign companies for the illegal development of gold deposits in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

“This process has already begun. We have invited well-known international law firms, and now they are preparing court cases. Foreign companies have exploited our gold deposits – Soyudlu in the Kelbajar region and Vejnali in the Zangilan region, as well as in other places,” Aliyev said in an interview to the state TV.

Previously, 74 percent of the Soyudlu (ZOD) deposit was under the development of the Russian company GeoProMining, when the Kelbajar region in Nagorno-Karabakh was controlled by Armenian forces. The rest of the deposit is located in Armenia’s territory.

Azerbaijan has reduced gold production by 2.7 percent year-on-year to 2.608 tonnes in the first nine months of the year. Production of silver rose by 7.7 percent to 3.510 tonnes.

There are two gold mining companies in Azerbaijan – state-owned AzerGold and London-listed Anglo-Asian Mining Company PLC. They have reserves of over 239 kg of gold and over 166 kg of silver, as of October 1, 2021.