The Demirli mining complex in the village of Janyatag in the Aghdere district is planned to export 85,000 tons of copper concentrate to China between 2025 and 2030, valued at 1.6 billion manats ($941.1 million).
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was informed of this during the opening ceremony of the Demirli complex.
Copper reserves at the mine are projected to increase in the coming years. According to preliminary geological exploration data, there are approximately 470,000 tons of additional copper reserves. A four-year exploration and research program will refine the deposit’s recoverable copper reserves.
It was also reported that 15.3 million manats of private investment was injected in reconstruction and restoration work. The complex includes a copper flotation plant, a wet waste storage facility, an electrical substation, and other buildings. The mining and production complex, covering a total area of 929 hectares, was reconstructed using Turkish and German technologies.
Demirli is the first mining project to commence operations in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. The copper flotation plant will process ore mined at the Demirli mine and produce copper concentrate as the final product. Its annual production capacity is 5.6 million tons of ore.
The Demirli copper mine, under Armenian occupation since 1993, was subject to illegal exploitation for nearly 10 years beginning on May 13, 2013. Of the 311,000 tons of recoverable copper reserves known at the time, 218,000 tons, or 70%, were extracted illegally. (Report)