Azerbaijan's AzerGold company has carried out the first drilling and blasting operations at the Sotk (Zod) gold mine, with the company reporting that the first controlled blast was conducted as part of preparatory work for the mine's exploitation.
The company considers this an important step toward transitioning to the active exploitation phase of the mine, noting that since August 2025, AzerGold had already conducted geological surveys, topographic measurements, and drilling operations totaling 18,000 meters in length.
Based on the results of exploration work, the company has estimated the mine's recoverable residual reserves at 1.03 million ounces of gold according to the JORC standard.
After the 44-day war in 2020, more than half of the Sotk mine area came under Azerbaijani control, and in November 2020, the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Tiran Khachatryan, stated that the state border runs almost through the central part of the mine.
According to him, a fence was installed along the mine's perimeter and a checkpoint on the road, but later work on the Armenian section of the mine was repeatedly halted due to gunfire from the Azerbaijani side.
In July 2021, Geopromining Gold reported that due to irregular gunfire, it had evacuated staff and equipment, and work at the mine had been suspended. In April 2023, work was again temporarily halted due to a border skirmish, and personnel were evacuated.
Geopromining representative Ruzanna Grigoryan said the company had made such a decision to ensure employee safety, and from April of that year, due to periodic gunfire from Baku, the mine management sent dozens of employees on forced leave.
In December 2025, Baku was building roads near the Sotk mine and planning to begin its exploitation, with the mine slated to be handed over to AzerGold after work was completed.
In effect, this blast practically puts an end to the prolonged uncertainty surrounding the Sotk mine. Azerbaijan has been conducting preparatory work for two years now, and appears to be moving into the practical phase of extraction.
It is important to recall that it was precisely over this mine that persistent tensions were maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact in the post-war period. Armenian side personnel worked under fire for years, and now the mine is fully passing under Azerbaijani control.
All of this also raises new questions regarding border security and the distribution of economic resources, especially when it comes to areas that were once used by both sides.
