Eldorado Converting Kisladag From Heap Leach to Milling

Following completion of a feasibility study into the viability of operating a milling facility at its Kisladag gold mine in western Turkey, Eldorado Gold has elected to proceed with construction of the project. The mine until now has produced gold via heap leaching; however, the company stopped stacking ore on the leach pad in April. Production since then has been from the remaining inventory on the pad. Production for 2018 is forecast to be in the range of 160,000 ounces (oz) to 170,000 oz of gold.

The new mill is planned to produce 270,000 oz/y over a project life of nine years. Processing will be based on a conventional carbon-in-pulp circuit. Throughput capacity is planned at 13 million metric ton per year (mt/y), processing feed grading 0.81 grams/mt at a recovery rate averaging 80.1%.

Preproduction capital costs for the mill project are budgeted at $520 million. All-in sustaining costs of production are forecast at $793/oz. The project is expected to begin commissioning in late 2020, with first production expected in the first half of 2021.

Eldorado discovered the Kisladag deposit in the late 1990s during a regional grassroots exploration program. The project produced its first doré in May 2006 and reached commercial production in July of that year.

As featured in Womp 2018 Vol 12 - www.womp-int.com