ProspectsGoldenTürkiye’s
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Eldorado Gold
is on the road to a shining future in Türkiye with a promising 2022 outlook for mining production and sustainability.
Türkiye’s relationship with gold stems from a rich cultural heritage and the element’s use in societal celebrations, such as weddings and re ligious ceremonies. The mineral is also woven into Turkish societal norms. For instance, it is not uncommon among citizens to keep gold “under the mattress” as a means of hedging against inflation and currency weakness. Yet, only in the last twenty years has the coun try made an impression in the gold industry. Pi oneers, such as the Canadian mining company Eldorado Gold Corporation, strategically invest ed in the under-explored, highly-prospective region and made waves in previously stagnant waters.
Türkiye, formerly Turkey, is not a coun try with a rich history in the gold pro duction industry. Prior to the early 2000s, Türkiye had no presence in the sector at all and was unable to produce even an ounce of the precious metal. The country’s peo ple relied solely on imports to satisfy their gold requirements, which is rather an unexpected and peculiar state of affairs considering how in trinsic gold is to Turkish tradition and daily life.
EldoradoProspectsGoldenTürkiye’sGold
Aerial view of Eldorado’s Kışladağ gold project
Kışladağ mine is expected to prospect ap proximately 13 million tons of gold, with a 0.65 grams per ton average grade. In contrast to Kışladağ’s open-pit operations, Efemçukuru is a high-grade, underground op eration that utilizes a flotation circuit for gold production. In more typical times, the mining enterprise produces approximately three tons of gold per annum by processing 600 000 tons of ore each year. By the end of 2022, Efemçukuru is anticipated to mine and process over 525 000 tons of ore at an average gold grade of 5.9 grams per ton. Cash operating costs per ounce are likely to be impacted as a result of fewer ounces being pro duced and sold. Cost inflation is expected to be
Weir ExpertiseMinerals.where it counts.
Weir Minerals is a global market leader providing tru sted technology and services for mining operations in more than 60 countries around the world. We work in partnership with our customers to solve their toug hest operating challenges safely, efficiently and sus tainably, helping to provide the essential resources needed by a growing world.
Kışladağ and Efemçukuru mines Kışladağ Gold Mine began operations in 2006 and is currently the largest gold mine in Europe.
Eldorado Gold
Eldorado operates the Lamaque gold mine in Canada, two polymetallic mines in Greece, and two grassroots gold mines in western Türkiye: Kışladağ and Efemçukuru. The company also has several development projects underway in Skouries and Perma Hill in Greece, and Certej in InRomania.1986,Eldorado’s Türkiye subsidiary, Tüprag Metal Madencilik A.Ş. was established in order to conduct metallic mineral exploration activ ities in the country. The company obtained a multitude of mining licenses, which led to the discovery of significant gold deposits, such as Uşak-Kışladağ and İzmir-Efemçukuru.
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We have research centres and manufacturing faciliti es around the world designing and producing a range of highly engineered solutions used in high wear ap plications. These are supported by an unrivalled glo bal service network that ensures Weir engineers can provide our customers with the solutions they need where and when they need them.
Kışladağ is a low-grade, bulk-tonnage, openpit operation that utilizes heap leaching for gold recovery. The operation has a 1500-strong workforce and contributes over USD 650 million to the national economy. Although the mining industry, like many sec tors, experienced a tumultuous first quarter due to the post-Covid environment and supply chain disruption, the outlook is positive for the rest of 2022.
At Weir Minerals we invest heavily in our material development capability and state of the art wear re sistant materials with properties that allow longer life cycles. Backed by a global network of research and design support, our metallurgy, polymer scien ce and hydraulic experts develop and implement the wear resistant products of the future. Our so phisticated laboratories are designed to conduct advanced material analysis on all our technological Throughdevelopments.acustomer focused strategy Weir Minerals has used its unique technologies to develop an unri valled range of comminution, mine dewatering, pro cess water and specialist slurry processing equipment for some of your most critical processes. This means that today’s Weir Minerals is much more than a pump Wecompany.havebeen partnering with our customers in Turkey for more than 10 years to maximise productivity of their operations and minimise equipment total cost of ownership. Weir Minerals Turkey T: +90 216 688 16 06 www.global.weir
www.global.weir Throughput issues, reduced capacity, dreaded downtime. Whatever your problem, Weir Minerals is here to help you solve it. Our integrated solutions team combines unique technical expertise, local access and global knowledge to optimise your entire process. We don’t just sell products, we solve problems. Learn more about our integrated solutions at www.problemsolved.weir OPTIMISING SITES PROBLEM?WORLDWIDESOLVED. Copyright© 2018, Weir Minerals Australia. WEIR is a trademark and/or registered trademark of Weir Engineering Services Ltd. Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine 5
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“Human and environment first, then mining” Mining may be at its core, yet Tüprag also up holds strong respect and esteem for its country, people, and customs. The subsidiary has stood by its principle of “human and environment first, then mining”, since its establishment, with the motto running as deep as Tüprag’s underground Inoperations.linewith this maxim, the company centers its business practices and operations on four com mitments, which also form the four tenets of parent company Eldorado Gold’s sustainability framework. These pillars are safe, inclusive and innovative operations, connected and prosper ous communities, products produced with re sponsibility, and a healthy environment for now and the future.
“Production in 2022 is expected to be heavily weighted to the second half of the year. Despite the headwinds, we have seen operations improve to wards the end of the quarter and are maintaining our consolidated full-year guidance of 460 000 to 490 000 ounces of gold.”
Eldorado Gold partially offset by the weakening of the Turkish Lira Eldoradocurrency.CEO and President George Burns said: “Our global operations were met with significant challenges in the first quarter. Severe weather in Türkiye and Greece, a government-mandated power outage in Türkiye, and Covid-related ab senteeism across all sites impacted our production.”
“Eldorado’s vision is to build a safe, sustainable, high-quality business in the gold mining sector, creating value today and for future generations,” explains George. “Our achievements in 2021 and our goals for the future affirm our commitment to incorporate sus tainability from the ground up in all aspects of our business. In 2021, we made our greatest progress on climate action yet and committed to mitigat
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Eldorado Gold ing our Greenhouse Gas emissions, which marks our biggest step so far towards building a business that is resilient to climate change and meaningfully contributes to a lower-carbon future.” In addition to this progress with its environ mental commitment, Eldorado has also made significant headway with the other three pil lars of its sustainability framework. In May, the company released its 2021 Annual Sustainabili ty Report and recorded achievements across all four areas. In terms of inclusivity, Eldorado has exceeded gender parity on the board, with a 56% mem bership identifying as female. The company contributed to local communities’ prosperity as locals currently constitute 81% of the work force, with 99% sourced from the countries within which it operates. In line with their tenet of responsibly produced products, the company conducted Sustainabili ty Integrated Management System self-assess ments across their global operating mine sites and ensured assurance against the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles. Within an environmental context, Eldorado is considered an industry leader in dry-stack tail ings implementation and, as previously touched upon by George, has launched a climate change strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. “As we look forward, we will continue to build on our solid foundation, challenge the status quo, and find better ways for sustainable mining practices,” ended George.
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