Gold and copper mining firm Anglo Asian Mining PLC, after two years of exploration work, on Monday announced it has discovered gold at the Ordubad mine in Azerbaijan.

The recent discovery could help jack up the company's gold production, which it plans to increase to 300,000 ounces per year by 2015.

With this, a Notice of Discovery was immediately submitted to the Azerbaijan Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the gold breakthrough at the 462 sq km Ordubad Contract Area.

"The Notice of Discovery has been submitted following exploration work performed by Anglo Asian at its Piyazbashi and Agyurt deposits at Ordubad during 2010 and 2011, building on work performed in Soviet times," Reuters News quoted the company as saying on Monday.

The Notice of Discovery is a requirement entered and signed by Anglo Asian Mining PLC with the Government of Azerbaijan. It first needs to be tendered before any technical and economical evaluation of a deposit in terms of a Development and Production Programme can take place, Mineweb reported. Anglo Asian Mining PLC has six months to submit the said Development and Production Programme to the Azerbaijan government for approval.

"The submission of the Notice of Discovery is another step in the direction of growing the company's resource base with a potential to develop gold operations in addition to the flagship Gedabek project. We are looking forward to further detail on the exploration programme completed in the region," Proactiveinvestors.co.uk quoted house broker Fairfax as saying.

Anglo Asian is a gold producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan.

It moved into gold production in May 2009 at its flagship Gedabek gold and copper mine located in western Azerbaijan. An open pit, heap leach operation, the mine produced 67,267 ounces of gold for its first full year of operation to December 31, 2010. Additionally Gedabek produces copper through its Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling and Thickening (SART) plant, which recovers copper in the form of a precipitated copper sulphide concentrate containing silver with commercial value.

The Gedabek gold and copper mine total resources holds at 791,000 ounces of gold, 49,300 tonnes of copper and 7,597,000 ounces of silver for all categories, according to its Web site.

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