AzerGold Begins Drilling and Blasting at Soyudlu Gold Deposit Following Return to Azerbaijani Control
Azerbaijan’s mining company AzerGold began its operations at the Soyudlu gold deposit in Kalbajar District, on the Armenian border. The project advances development of a site that returned to Azerbaijani control for the first time since 2020.
AzerGold's extensive geological investigations and topographic planning have been under way since August 2025, alongside a drilling programme totalling 18,000 metres. Based on the exploration results, the deposit’s remaining recoverable gold resources are estimated at 1 million ounces, reported as approximately 28 tons.
The project currently employs 236 people, including contractors, with 55 workers residing in Kalbajar District. Development and construction between 2026 and 2029 are expected to support around 700 direct and indirect jobs. Employment associated with the operation is forecast to exceed 1,300 once production reaches full capacity.
Soyudlu’s development follows decades of overlapping political, administrative and commercial arrangements. According to RFE/RL, the deposit was identified in 1951 along the boundary between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani territory reportedly contained about three-fourth of its gold reserves, including 17 of the deposit’s 25 gold veins.
The contractual basis for development on the Azerbaijani side dates to 1997, when Baku entered into a a joint cooperation with RV Investment Group Services. Anglo Asian Mining later succeeded RV Investment as the holder of the development rights. Nonetheless, Armenian control of Soyudlu prevented the company from carrying out mining activities in the Azerbaijani portion of the deposit at that time.
Azerbaijan revised the agreement’s legal framework in 2022, bringing the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources into the arrangement as a party. In June 2024, the government appointed AzerGold as its representative, preceding the exploration programme and the latest operational work. Now AzerGold seems to be on a steady growth with its operations at the Soyudlu gold deposit.
Related assets: Gold, Silver, Palladium, Platinum