JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Kiziltepe gold and silver joint venture (JV) mine, in Turkey, has exceeded its feasibility study production forecast by 38% on a gold-only basis, 50%-owner Ariana Resources reported on Thursday.
The mine, in which Proccea Construction is the other JV partner, produced and sold 4 501 oz of gold and 35 095 oz of silver in the December quarter, at an average operating cash cost of $585/oz.
Total gold and silver sales for 2017 are 10 191 oz and 65 600 oz, respectively. Commercial production at the mine started in July last year.
“Our second quarter of commercial production underscores the profitability of this operation, with operating cash costs remaining well within range of our expectations. At current gold prices, profitability of the mine is predicted to increase further during 2018, due to increasing grades expected to be encountered in the coming months.
“As the JV company has been cash-flow positive for some time, we are currently expecting intercompany loan repayments from the JV to our wholly owned subsidiary, Galata Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd. to commence during the first quarter of 2018. Whilst it is too early to say for certain, the current operational plan and gold price situation suggests that with cash-flow from our JV, together with existing cash resources at group level, the company has the capacity to become self-financing during 2018,” said Ariana MD Kerim Sener.
The Kiziltepe operation is currently expected to deliver approximately 20 000 oz/y of gold equivalent over eight years of initial mine life, for a total of up to 16 000 oz gold equivalent based on current resources.