AzerGold Maps $2.1bn Build-Out Across Four Gold, Copper and Iron Projects

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

Chairman of the Executive Board Zakir Ibrahimov set out the pipeline at a briefing in Baku on September 24, Trend reported. The projects sit within the government's new state programme for mining and metallurgy.

Four projects, staggered start dates

• Soyudlu (Kalbajar) – gold; production from 2028 over a nine-year life; 1.03 million ounces of reserves; 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 2031–2032 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).

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 – Dashkesan and Filizchay together account for roughly 80% of the planned spend – rather than for the smaller, faster-payback gold mines.

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.

Further Reading

• Aliyev Orders Full Mining Value Chain in 2027-2030 Metals Programme
• Anglo Asian Cuts 2026 Gold Guidance as Azerbaijani Copper Output Jumps

Photo: Unsplash (illustrative)