Canada’s Eldorado Gold has announced a 15-year mine life at Kisladag, in Turkey, to 2034, following the completion of long-cycle heap leach testwork and the replacement of the tertiary crushing circuit with a high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) circuit.

The new mineral reserve for Kisladag includes proven and probable reserves of 173.2-million tonnes of ore at 0.72 g/t, containing four-million ounces of gold.

The mine is forecast to produce an average of 160 000 oz/y at an average cash cost of $675/oz to $725/oz and an average all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $800/oz to $850/oz.

“Kisladag has been the cornerstone asset of Eldorado for over a decade, producing over three-million ounces of gold and generating significant value for all stakeholders during that period.  Following the resumption of full operations last spring, and the significant work and testing undertaken by the Eldorado team over the past 18 months, we are pleased to announce a mine life extension at Kisladag that puts this asset back in the core of our portfolio,” said president and CEO George Burns.

Eldorado reported that the project self-funds all development capital for waste stripping and the HPGR circuit. The cost for the HPGR circuit, about $35-million, is spread over 2020 and 2021, while the cost of capitalised waste stripping, about $260-million, is spread over the life of the project, with heavier stripping in the first several years.   

Meanwhile, Eldorado said it would produce 520 000 oz to 550 000 oz of gold in 2020, a substantial increase ofon the 395 331 oz produced in 2019.

Average cash operating costs are forecast to decline from $608/oz of gold sold in 2019, to $550/oz to $600/oz of gold sold in 2020. The AISC for 2020 is forecast to be $850/oz to $950/oz of gold sold, down on the $1 033/oz of gold sold in 2019.

With the extension of Kisladag’s mine life and continued operations at Lamaque, in Canada, Efemcukuru, in Turkey, and Olympias, in Greece, Eldorado is forecasting five-year production from its four current operations to average over 450 000 oz/y. In addition to the updated Kisladag technical report, the company is in the process of updating technical reports for Olympias and Efemcukuru, which will be published by the end of the first quarter.