@AAZMining is my biggest holding and I don't think everyone appreciates the opportunity it offers. Its unlike most miners as it produces metals rather than shares: gold and copper. Shares in issue were 112m in 2014, now 114m. Market cap £184m, SP 160p. Since 2018 #AAZ has paid

dividends of 19.5c, with 9c paid in 2020 and a special dividend expected to be declared very soon. They have no debt and at year end near $40m of cash. 2020 was a year when everything went wrong - pandemic followed by war - and they missed production targets as key staff

were conscripted, but they still produced 70k GEO. Before the war they were guiding 25k oz production in Q4 as they dug into better grades at their flagship mine. AAZ had rights over 3 mines in occupied territories that nobody had thought had any value. Suddenly

that has changed, and they will be theirs. The biggest produced 120k oz last year. There will need to be some infrastructure added, but basically, a company that produced 70k last year could well be producing 220k+ within 12/18 months. No exploration risk, just based

on what is already proved up. Then there is the potential exploration upside, particularly at Ordubad, within an enclave that has been hard to access but that too has changed as a result of the war and a new road being built to access Nakhchivan. When AAZ floated, Ordubad was

the jewel in the crown, with an estimated resource of over 45m ounces suggested in the IPO documents. And it has a board that owns 40% of the shares, and is heavyweight: John Sununu was George W Bush's chief of staff, Reza Vaziri is head of the US/Azerbaijan chamber of

commerce, which includes the likes of Kissinger and Scowcroft. Very smart board who can protect shareholder interests and manage geopolitical risk. Under the profit share agreement, Azerbaijan get half of the gold produced and so have no incentive to disturb arrangements

So, you have a company that's debt free and cashed up, pays chunky dividends, never dilutes shareholders, has had a difficult year yet is considering a special dividend, has a strong board, and has just had a windfall that must, conservatively, triple its value.

It was £1.70 in August 2019, when gold was $1400. You can buy it for less than that now. It's a much bigger, stronger company with imminent substantial growth ahead. They are presenting at Proactive this week. I can't think of a better risk/reward play at the moment.

POG, which I held, went from 10p to 40p in 6 months last year. In terms of value, management and the clarity of the path to growth, I think AAZ now is a much better prospect. DYOR, but don't dismiss it because you think its a small, high-risk miner: it really is different.