Tag Archives: Zafar

Anglo Asian bolsters Azerbaijan mining fleet with Epiroc, Cat, Paus and Tunelmak equipment

Anglo Asian Mining says it has placed orders for the major items of equipment required for production from its new Zafar and Gilar mines in Azerbaijan, with a fleet made up of Epiroc drills, Caterpillar loaders and auxiliary machines from the likes of Paus and Tunelmak.

The company has also made progress with the upgrades to its Gedabek flotation plant, it noted.

The equipment for Zafar and Gilar includes an underground fleet from Caterpillar and drilling machinery from Epiroc. The total equipment cost is approximately $10 million, approximately 40% of which will be met from the company’s existing cash reserves with the remaining being funded through vendor financing. The equipment is a significant investment for the company, underpinning its confidence to achieve its stated ambition to transition to mid-tier copper production status, it said.

A day before this announcement, Anglo Asian said it had completed a scoping study for the Zafar underground mine, based on ore production of 700,000 t/y and a 0.5% copper equivalent cutoff grade. Development work and the construction of two portals has also started.

Included in the drilling fleet is an Epiroc Boomer S1 D, three Epiroc T1D jumbos, one Epiroc Simba S7 D and one Epiroc H1354. The Caterpillar machinery includes three 15-t payload R1700 LHDs and two UMA 980 wheel loaders.

Auxiliary units that will complement this fleet include a Paus TSL853 Central articulated steering telescopic swivel loader, two Tunelmak ADROIT 520-2 AH 4×4 hydrostatic basket platforms and one Tunelmak ADROIT 420AH 4×4 articulated hydrostatic shotcrete pump.

Anglo Asian produced 57,618 oz of gold equivalent for the year ended December 31, 2022, but, with the addition of Zafar and Gilar, it has an ambition to become a mid-tier miner producing over 100,000 oz/y of gold equivalent.

An expansion of the flotation plant at Gedabek, the company’s flagship opeation, is underway together with adding a further line to produce zinc concentrate, it said. The total cost of the expansion, which will see it add three new rougher/scavenger cells and four cleaner cells from Maelgwyn Mineral Services, is currently estimated at $3 million which will be paid from the company’s existing cash resources. Contractors have been appointed to supply materials for the new flotation line. Additional contractors will be commissioned to modify the existing building and provide electrical services and control equipment, it added.

The modifications to the flotation plant to increase its capacity have now been broadly completed. The installation of the new flotation line using hydraulic flotation cells will be completed by the end of the year.

Stephen Westhead, Vice President of Anglo Asian, said: “The new equipment will be used to expand the company’s mining and processing operations with the development of two new underground mines this year. The expansion of our flotation plant has been broadly completed, doubling capacity and creating additional processing flexibility. This represents an important step in our medium-term growth ambition to become a mid-tier production miner, and significantly increases our capabilities within copper.”

Anglo Asian banks on Maelgwyn’s Imhoflot flotation tech for Gedabek plant expansion

Anglo Asian Mining has started the expansion of its flotation plant at the Gedabek site in Azerbaijan, with the company set to add an additional three rougher/scavenger cells and four cleaner cells from Maelgwyn Mineral Services.

The expansion will see the plant capacity doubled, while providing additional operational flexibility, it said. It also forms part of Anglo Asian’s increase in throughput capacity to process ore from new mines in the short and medium term. This will begin with Zafar, which is due to commence production in the second half of 2023, and will go some way to supporting the company’s ambition to become a mid-tier miner producing over 100,000 oz/y of gold equivalent.

The total cost of the expansion has been estimated at $2.5 million, which will be paid from the company’s existing cash resources.

Reza Vaziri, Chief Executive Officer of Anglo Asian, said: “This expansion is an important step in the company’s preparation for our new mines entering production…This increase in production capacity is a critical part in enabling Anglo Asian to achieve mid-tier production status in due course.”

Anglo Asian’s flotation plant opened in 2015 to produce copper concentrate as the company was mining ore with increasing amounts of copper. The flotation plant is located at its Gedabek site, next to its agitation leaching plant. The plant currently contains six 50 cu.m rougher/scavenger cells and twelve 5 cu.m cleaner cells, a thickener and a filter press. The plant is fed ore crushed by a dedicated SAG mill and ball mill combination.

Maelgwyn Mineral Services will supply an additional three rougher/scavenger cells and four cleaner cells for the expansion. They use Imhoflot pneumatic flotation technology, which requires less energy and offers better recoveries than traditional tank cells and flotation columns, Anglo Asian states. The cost of the new cells including instrumentation and spares is approximately $1 million.

One Imhoflot cell has been under test at Gedabek since April 2022 and has produced excellent results, the company said.

The additional flotation line will increase the flexibility of the plant and enable the production of an intermediate copper concentrate, followed by a final zinc concentrate as a by-product. The crushing circuit of the current agitation leaching plant will be used to provide the additional crushing capacity required for the expanded flotation plant.

Yon İç Ve Dış Ticaret Pazarlama Limited Şirketih (a Turkish contractor) will supply a new thickener and filter press for the new flotation line at a cost of approximately $500,000. The only additional equipment required to complete the installation will be pumps, electrical panels and some minor ancillary items. The building housing the existing flotation line will also require some modification, but no increase in size.