British mining company Anglo Asian Mining (AAM) has appointed Worley Europe Limited to conduct feasibility studies for the development of the Xarxar and Garadagh copper deposits in Azerbaijan.
The company is in the process of finalising a contract with Worley Europe Limited for the execution of these studies.
The feasibility studies will assess options for copper processing using heap leaching and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) technologies at the Xarxar and Garadagh deposits. This approach would allow the production of saleable copper directly at the mining site, rather than producing copper concentrate for further processing abroad.
"This is the first time it is proposed that copper as copper metal will be produced by the Company or in Azerbaijan," the company said.
Under AAM’s development plans, the feasibility study for the Xarxar deposit is expected to be completed by mid-2027, while the study for the Garadagh deposit is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2028.
In parallel, AAM plans to carry out a 90,000-meter drilling program during 2026–2027, comprising around 55,000 meters of exploration drilling and 35,000 meters of drilling linked to the feasibility studies. Drilling at the Xarxar deposit has already commenced, while operations at Garadagh are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026.
"Exploration will focus on extensions at Xarxar and Garadag and the surrounding areas, follow-up drilling in the Gedabek contract area and extensions to the Demirli mine and Demirli South target areas. Underground drilling has also commenced at Gilar, to target the upper levels and for extensions of the deeper levels of the deposit," the company said.
Drilling related to the feasibility studies will include geological exploration to update mineral resource estimates, as well as geotechnical, hydrogeological, metallurgical, and infill drilling at Xarxar (around 10,000 meters) and Garadagh (around 25,000 meters).
"Following a rigorous selection process, we are delighted to appoint Worley Europe Limited as our contractor for the feasibility studies at Xarxar and Garadag, which host over one million tonnes of copper metal and are critical to our growth strategy," Stephen Westhead, Vice President of Anglo Asian Mining, stated.
"These studies, combined with the associated drilling programme, will enable us to construct the mines," he added.
Worley Europe Limited is part of Worley, a global professional services company specialising in energy, chemicals, and resources, headquartered in Australia.
By Jeyhun Aghazada
