Amirreza Vaziri
Not Every Opportunity Is the Right One
Since moving into my role, I have learned that an opportunity can look great on paper but still be the wrong fit for a company. This is particularly relevant when it comes to operating a project: how will it impact our current operations, stretch the management team, or impact company culture? This is particularly important for us as we manage a portfolio of eight contract areas in Azerbaijan.
That is why I now only consider opportunities that we can successfully operate alongside our existing business, without losing sight of what is already working.
Grow Without Stretching the Business
My main criteria is that every potential investment or partnership that we consider must support our long-term strategy without hindering our current operations and management team. We are lucky to have partnered with some incredibly high-calibre international organisations, including Caterpillar and Trafigura, where collaboration has accelerated the delivery of our strategy, supporting our record copper production this past half-year. These partnerships provide us with access to expertise and capabilities beyond those we could have delivered previously.
I also discuss potential opportunities with colleagues across different disciplines of the business. Their perspectives help us test the opportunity, understand what success would look like and build a plan to deliver it.
Pursue What Neither Can Achieve Alone
Strategic partnerships can play a major role in mining because long-term growth depends on finding new resources and assets, as well as utilising new technology that can improve efficiency or add processing capabilities. Many companies are built on one asset or licence area, so as that mine matures, the question becomes what comes next.
“An opportunity needs to make sense today, but I also ask whether it strengthens our production base, supports the development of our growth projects, or gives us greater flexibility in how and where we operate.”
A partnership that can open doors for you is invaluable. As well as providing access to new projects, this could also be adding technical expertise, capital or processing methods that extend mine life and help us get more value from the resources we already have.
For me, the best partnerships fill a genuine gap. Each party brings something the other needs, so both can focus on what they do best. When their interests are aligned, they can pursue opportunities neither company could achieve as effectively alone.
Let the Long-Term Strategy Decide
We have a very clear strategy to become a mid-tier, copper-focused, multi-asset producer and all of our strategic decisions are centred on this. This enhances our decision-making, as everything comes back to this central objective within the business. An opportunity needs to make sense today, but I also ask whether it strengthens our production base, supports the development of our growth projects, or gives us greater flexibility in how and where we operate.
Naturally, capital and management time are finite, so we prioritise opportunities that enhance our ability to deliver on our strategy. Some near-term investments can improve the performance and cash generation of existing operations, which in turn help fund future growth.
For example, at Gedabek and Demirli, targeted investment in processing infrastructure, including a new flotation line at Gedabek and the replacement of the ball mill gear shaft at Demirli, helped support a record half-year performance in 2026, with copper production reaching 8,840 tonnes and net cash from operating activities rising to $78.5 million.
Build Beyond the Life of One Mine
Demand for minerals such as copper, driven by electrification and the energy transition, is creating clear opportunities for producers, but we need a resource base that can meet that demand over time. We expect to produce 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of copper in 2026, and continued exploration is imperative if we are to further increase this level of production. This is reflected in our c.90,000 metre drilling programme across our portfolio through to 2027, including at our Xarxar and Garadag growth projects.
We should also look at how advances in mining and processing can help us get more value from our existing resource base. In-situ copper recovery is one approach that could open up resources that are difficult to develop conventionally, where the geology and environmental conditions allow. Better processing can also improve recovery rates at existing operations. This is why we are investing in processing improvements at Gedabek and Demirli to increase efficiency and recover more value from our existing operations.
Clearly, AI has the potential to be a game-changer here, and we are finding multiple ways to implement this internally to enhance efficiency. It can help us interpret geological data, identify exploration targets and improve plant performance.
The opportunity is to combine new resources with better ways of finding, mining and processing them, so that today’s demand supports growth well beyond the life of any one mine.
