Mining

AzerGold Maps $2.1bn Build-Out of Four Mining Projects

September 26, 2026

Min

CBJ Energy Desk covers oil, gas, power and energy policy across Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, plus the Caspian supply routes linking the region to Europe.

AzerGold Maps $2.1bn Build-Out of Four Mining Projects

Azerbaijan's state-owned miner AzerGold has put a price tag on its next growth phase: four strategic projects requiring approximately AZN 3.63 billion ($2.1 billion) in investment, with a combined economic value the company puts at AZN 60.4 billion ($35.5 billion).

Chairman of the Executive Board Zakir Ibrahimov set out the pipeline at a briefing in Baku on 24 September 2026, Trend reported, and AzerGold published his remarks. The projects sit within the government's new state programme for mining and metallurgy for 2027 to 2030, which President Ilham Aliyev approved by order on 23 September, according to AzerGold. Dollar figures are Trend's conversions; the central bank's official rate that day was 1.70 manats to the dollar.

Four projects, staggered start dates

Soyudlu (Kalbajar), gold; production from 2028 over a nine-year life; 1.03 million ounces of reserves, about 32 tonnes at 31.1 grams to the troy ounce (a CBJ conversion); AZN 425 million ($250 million) of investment.
Ortakend (Nakhchivan), gold; production from 2029 over nine years; 246,000 ounces; AZN 255 million ($150 million).
Dashkesan, iron ore to hot-briquetted iron (HBI); production from 2030; 40 million tonnes of HBI over 20 years; AZN 1.95 billion ($1.1 billion).
Filizchay (Balakan), polymetallic; production from 2031 to 2032 over 34 years; 363,000 tonnes of copper, 2.7 million tonnes of zinc and 1 million tonnes of lead; AZN 1 billion ($590 million).

Soyudlu is the most advanced. AzerGold reported its first drilling and blasting operation at the deposit on 7 September and puts its recoverable reserves at 1.03 million ounces under the JORC reporting standard, the company said.

Timeline of AzerGold's four projects by first production year: Soyudlu gold from 2028, Ortakend gold from 2029, Dashkesan iron ore to hot-briquetted iron from 2030 and Filizchay polymetallic from 2031 to 2032, with mine life and planned investment for each, Caucasus Business Journal — The order in which AzerGold expects its four projects to start producing, with mine life and planned investment. Source: AzerGold, briefing of 24 September 2026, as reported by Trend.

Who pays

Ibrahimov said only 10% of the funding will come from the state budget. The two gold projects are to be financed from AzerGold's own revenues and borrowing. Dashkesan will draw on the budget, debt and outside investors, while Filizchay starts 100% AzerGold-owned, with a possible equity sale to foreign partners once the deposit's value is better established.

That structure matters for lenders and potential co-investors. The company is signalling that it wants external capital for the most capital-intensive assets rather than for the smaller, faster-payback gold mines: Dashkesan and Filizchay together account for roughly 80% of the planned spend, on CBJ's arithmetic.

A steel supply chain, not just a mine

Dashkesan is the most ambitious element. Ore will be concentrated at the mine, then moved through a slurry pipeline of more than 40 kilometres, which AzerGold describes as the first of its kind in the country, to a pelletising and HBI plant in the Western Industrial Park in Shamkir. The planned plant capacity is 2 million tonnes a year, aimed first at domestic steelmakers, with surplus for export.

Adding about 1.28 million ounces of gold reserves through Soyudlu and Ortakend would lift production and export volumes, Ibrahimov said, while Filizchay would open a base-metals export line that Azerbaijan currently lacks at scale.

Why it matters

For investors, the announcement converts a policy goal, building a full mining value chain, into a dated project list with capex figures. Execution risk remains high: timelines run to 2032, and the headline "economic value" figures depend on long-run metal prices. But the 10% budget cap means AzerGold will need to come to market for debt and equity, creating openings for regional banks, export-credit agencies and strategic partners over the next five years.