"Dashkasan Demir Filiz" (DDF) LLC, a subsidiary of "AzerGold" Closed Joint Stock Company (JSC), is successfully operating the largest iron ore mines of our country and the region.

Analyzes conducted in order to start exploitation works as soon as possible in the "Dashkasan" iron ore field, which covers "North-east", "North-west", "South-east", "South-west", "Damirov", "Dardara" fields year has been concluded.

"APA-Economics" informs that according to the detailed analysis, it was determined that it is possible to extract iron ores from the listed deposits in the "North-west" and "South-east" by open method, and from others by mining method.

Taking into account that, in contrast to the open mining method, exploitation by the mine method is a more complex and long-term process, in order to achieve faster results, the first stage of the operation was started on the "North-west" and "South-east" fields.

As a result of the revaluation of mineral resources carried out in accordance with modern standards, an increase of 67.37 million tons of underground resources was achieved.

Thus, the total reserves of the "Northwest" and "Southeast" fields increased from 117.6 million tons to 184.97 million tons.

A 21-year operation plan was prepared for these two fields with the application of modern technology in cooperation with "Micon International", an international experienced consultant of Great Britain.

However, in order to increase the exploitation plan to 30 years, exploration and research works are continued on 5 deposits in the "Dashkasan" iron ore field.

In accordance with the mentioned operation plan, within the framework of the organization of iron ore production in the period of 2025-2026, the excavation works to reach the ore rocks were started from 2022, and by the end of that year, 350 thousand tons of ore were extracted and collected in the ore warehouse.

During the current year, according to the exploitation plan, the target is to extract 1.66 million tons of ore.

The production of iron ore is aimed at replacing metal scraps recycled in the country with high-quality raw materials, reducing the dependence of the metallurgical industry on imports, and also meeting the growing demand for the production of export-oriented steel products.

For this purpose, it is planned to create a new production chain with economically efficient and optimal technological solutions.

Production of higher-quality concentrate with 67% iron content is planned for the production chain, and at the next stage, production of pellets and direct reduced iron (DRI - Direct Reduced Iron) and hot briquetted iron (HBI - Hot Briquetted Iron) with 95% iron content is planned.

Last year, local engineering and consulting company "ENCOTEC" CJSC carried out preliminary design work on the project of construction of the beneficiation plant, which is planned to be built near the iron ore mines - in Dashkasan district, for the production of iron ore concentrate.

Design works for the construction of new main and auxiliary buildings to be built on the territory of the plant, and the demolition of unusable buildings have been continued.

In addition, detailed design works on auxiliary buildings and auxiliary infrastructure (water, electricity, etc.) have been started, and a master plan for the production and administrative area has been prepared.

Restoration and reconstruction works have been carried out on the territory of the factory.

In the past years, the concentrate from the "Dashkasan" iron ore field was transported by cable line to the loading point located in the Gushchu settlement of the region, and from there it was transported by rail.

Considering that the assets in question, which have been in operation for a long time, are currently in a state of disrepair, alternative and more efficient solutions for building new infrastructure have been evaluated.

As a result of research conducted taking into account international experience, it was determined that the process of transporting sludge through a pipeline, which is planned to be implemented for the first time in our country, is more efficient from a technical and financial point of view, in order to ensure its transportation from Dashkasan district to the pellet plant located in the administrative territory of Ganja city.

In this direction, global "Paterson&

Cooke's UK office carried out Preliminary Design and Master Design.

As part of the design works, the route of the pipeline, structural and mechanical requirements were determined, and testing works were carried out.

At present, detailed design work is proceeding rapidly.

According to the project, with the construction of a 45 km long pipeline, iron concentrate produced in Dashkasan will be mixed with water and transported in the form of slurry in the direction of Ganja city.

At the dewatering station that will be built at the end of the slurry pipeline, the concentrate and water will be separated, the separated concentrate will be pelletized, and the technical water will be used in the pellet and DRI/HBI production process.

Taking into account the favorable geographical location of Ganja city for the transportation of pellets and DRI/HBI products to be produced in the future, both in the country and for export purposes, it is planned to establish the production facilities of the mentioned products in the administrative area of ​​the mentioned city.

For this purpose, the preliminary design work started by the German company "NewFer", which was engaged as a contractor for the pellet production plant, is currently being continued.

During the past period, metallurgical tests for concentrate and pellet were also carried out.

In connection with the construction project of the second enterprise - DRI/HBI products production plant, which is planned to be built in the administrative territory of Ganja as the last link of the production chain, operational and commercial analyzes on technology selection were conducted last year with the participation of the prestigious Austrian company "Horst Wiesinger Consulting".

Among the potential technologies, production technologies belonging to Italian, US and Japanese companies with the largest market share were investigated.

It should be noted that taking into account the fact that the plants to be built will require a significant amount of electricity, negotiations are underway to evaluate the possibilities of using alternative energy resources.

Also, activities are continued with the relevant state authorities for the allocation of the area where the construction of pellet and DRI/HBI plants is planned.

Last year, 44 million 64 thousand manats were spent on the works related to the creation of the production chain, which required large investments and was quite complex.

In order not to be an additional burden on the state budget, activities are being continued in the direction of attracting foreign investors, as well as exploring the possibilities of using various financial instruments.

It should be recalled that the total amount of the authorized capital of DDF LLC was determined at the expense of the state funds directed to increase the authorized capital of 183.9 million manats.

The cost of the project is 1.5 billion manats including VAT.

The mentioned project promises great contributions in terms of its impact on the macro-economic indicators of the country.

By putting iron ore deposits into operation, it is predicted that billions of manats will be contributed to the GDP by 2035 and a large amount of taxes will be paid.

Taking into account the direct and indirect effect of the project, which serves the development of the non-oil and gas sector of our country, it is planned to make a significant contribution to the employment index of the Ganja-Dashkasan economic region by opening hundreds of permanent jobs.