Kişladağ mine
| Summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DescriptionThe Kişladağ gold mine is the largest gold mine in Turkey. We advanced Kişladağ from an exploration discovery through development to construction and production. Kişladağ is a low grade, bulk tonnage open pit operation using heap leaching for gold recovery. In 2011 we placed 12.4 million tonnes of ore on the leach pad. The increased ore production (from 10 million tonnes in 2010) was the result of the expansion project undertaken in 2010. Capital spending in 2012 is estimated at $175 million. Most of this is for the commencement of engineering works on the expansion project to take Kişladağ up to 25 Mtpa of crushed material, plus 8 Mtpa of run-of-mine material. The total cost for this project is $354 million and commissioning is expected during 2014. In August 2011 we announced the results of the Phase IV expansion study which involves processing an additional 12.5 million tonnes per year -- for a total of 25 million tonnes. We intend to submit the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment report in Q2 2012 and anticipate receiving approval in Q3 2012. We estimate that the Phase IV expansion will be completed by Q3 2014 - resulting in an average expanded production rate of approx. 475,000 ounces of gold per year from Kisladag. Kişladağ Open Pit 
Resources and ReservesAs of December 31, 2010
Subsequent Events:Kisladag Resource and Reserve Update - Kisladag Resource and Reserve Update Reserves Continue to GrowFiles Kişladağ Gold Mine Technical Report (PDF)
Kişladağ Project Feasibility Study Cost Update Executive Summary (PDF)
Kişladağ Project Feasibility Study (PDF)
Last update: January 25, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Kişladağ mine is located 180 kilometres east of Izmir and 350 kilometres southwest of Ankara, in Uşak Province. The city of Uşak with a population of 170,000 is the closest large population centre, located 35 kilometres to the northeast. Access to the site is via all-weather paved roads serving several small villages in the immediate area. Kişladağ sits on the western edge of the Anatolian Plateau, in gentle rolling topography, at an elevation of approximately 1,000 metres. The climate is arid with hot summers and cold winters. Economic activity in the area consists of a mixture of subsistence farming and grazing. Last update: April 7, 2010. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geology & Mineralization | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kişladağ lies within one of several mid- to late-Tertiary volcanic complexes in western Turkey, related to subduction along the Hellenic Trench southwest of Turkey. In the Kişladağ region, the volcanic complexes erupted onto a basement of schist at the northeast margin of the Menderes Massif. Porphyry-style gold mineralization is hosted by a number of latitic intrusive bodies. The Gökgöz Tepe alteration zone, which encloses the Kişladağ deposit, covers approximately 12 square kilometers. Intensely-altered coarsely porphyritic latite is host to the bulk of the gold mineralization. The ore body forms an annular zone around a later weakly mineralized stock of similar composition. Gold is associated with multiple phases of tourmaline-pyrite, pyrite, and quartz-pyrite veins and breccias, and is accompanied by small amounts of base metals, principally zinc and molybdenum. Oxidation in the deposit is shallow over the barren intrusion but extends to depths of 40 to 50 meters to the west and east. Last update: April 7, 2010. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mining & Processing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In 2012, Kişladağ plans to place 12.5 million tonnes of ore on the leach pad at a grade of 1.08 g/t Au, with a strip ratio of 1.3:1. The 12.5 million tonnes is the design capacity for the new equipment commissioned in 2011. In 2010, we increased ore production to 10 million tonnes by adding capacity to the crushing and conveying circuits. Initial mining at Kişladağ was carried out by a local contractor using conventional earth-moving equipment. An owner-operated fleet of 150 tonne haul trucks and equivalent loading equipment was brought into operation in Q3 2008. A three-stage crushing system using a gyratory crusher and four cone crushers reduces the run-of-mine ore to 80% passing 6.3 mm in size for leaching. Conveyors are used to transfer and distribute the material onto the leach pad in 10 meter lifts for leaching. A conventional carbon adsorption facility (ADR plant) is used to recover the gold from process solutions to a final gold dore product. Kişladağ cash costs have been impacted by increases in price of fuel, reagents, consumables as well as a slight decline in the ore grade and increase in the waste stripping. The overall effects have however been partially offset by process efficiency improvements. Last update: January 25, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kişladağ Exploration | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To take full advantage of the Kişladağ mine's processing facilities, we continue to look for new opportunities in the area surrounding the mine. Exploration at Kişladağ in 2012 will be a continuation of the 2011 geophysical surveying for deep target generation, with diamond drill testing (10,000 metres) of identified targets. Drilling to October 2011 included 12 diamond drillholes testing fault-controlled hydrothermal conduits emanating southward from the deposit area, and investigating areas reserved for infrastructure expansion. No significant mineralized intersections were obtained. Following our 2009 and 2010 resource drilling programs, the 2011 exploration program shifted to new target generation peripheral to the main porphyry system, focusing on possible satellite deposits concealed beneath volcanic cover. We conducted soil sampling and a 3-dimensional IP survey covering approximately 40 km2 surrounding the deposit to identify new targets. Kişladağ Section Showing Mineralized Zones, Southern Area (Click to enlarge)  Kişladağ Plan (Click to enlarge)  Last update: January 25, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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