US-British company to develop Azeri gold mines

Assa-Irada
6 Aug 05

Baku, 5 August: US RV Investment Group will tackle the development
of Azerbaijan’s gold fields shortly. The company will start drilling
the first exploration on the Ordubad gold field over the next four
to six weeks, its director, former British Energy Minister Gerald
Philips has said.

RV Investment has established a new company – the Azerbaijan
International Mining Operating Company – to operate Azerbaijan’s gold
deposits. The Ordubad field covers an area of 462 sq.km. The results
of geological and exploration work carried out during the Soviet
Union times will be used in the drilling operations, said Philips.

A factory will be built in the area after the drilling of the
well is completed. The field is to be put into operation in the
third quarter of 2007, with some 700 workers to be employed, the RV
Investment director said. A total of 50m dollars, to be invested in
the project in the first stage of the operations, will be drawn from
US and British international financial institutions. If considerable
copper reserves are discovered after the exploration well is drilled,
a copper plant will be built in the area as well, Philips said.

The Azerbaijani government earlier signed a contract with RV
Investment Group on tapping gold deposits. The 25-year agreement,
concluded earlier by the Azarqizil state company, abolished in 1997,
and RV Investment Group (with Azerbaijan holding 51 per cent of shares
and the US company 49 per cent), envisages developing nine fields
containing 400 tons of gold, 2,500 tons of silver and 1.5m tons of
copper. The fields are mainly located in the Kalbacar, Zangilan,
Daskasan and Ordubad western and southwestern regions. Three of the
deposits are located in Azerbaijani territories currently occupied
by the Armenian armed forces.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress