The Kışladag gold mine in the Usak province, Turkey, is developed as an open-pit mine.
The mine is 100% owned and operated by Tuprag Metal Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret, a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold.
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The mine started commercial production in 2006. The Kışladag gold mine produced 38,990oz of gold in the second quarter of 2024.
Kışladag gold project location
The Kışladag gold mine is situated in west-central Turkey, approximately 180km inland from the Aegean coast, positioned between Izmir and Ankara. The site is located 35km south-west of the city of Uşak.
The project area is covered by a single operational licence, number 85995, encompassing a total of 17,192ha.
Geology and mineralisation of the Kışladag mine
The Kışladag mine is part of many tertiary volcanic complexes located in western Turkey. The volcanic complexes were formed at the base of schist along the north-east part of the Menderes Massif metamorphic rocks.
The gold mineralisation primarily takes place within monzonite intrusive rocks, which are emplaced within and above the pre-Cretaceous Menderes metamorphic rocks. There is minor deformation within the Beydagı volcanic sequence in and around the deposit.
Most of the gold is found in sub-volcanic intrusives of quartz-syenite to quartz-monzonite composition and is accompanied by traces of zinc, copper and lead.
Reserves at Kışladag site
The proven and probable mineral reserves at the Kışladag gold mine are estimated at 176.5 million tonnes (mt) grading 0.67g/t of Au (Gold) as of September 2023. The contained metal is estimated at 3,759oz of gold.
Mining method at Kışladag
The Kışladag mine is developed as an open-pit mine using drill, blast and haul mining methods.
The mine consists of a life of mine strip ratio of approximately 1.12:1 and the ore and waste are mined in 10m benches.
The mining is being carried out in five phases with the first three phases already completed. Phase IV strip back commenced in 2020 with operations slated to continue till 2026. Phase V stripping began in 2021, and the mining will continue in this phase until 2034.
The mining fleet includes seven diesel drills, two electric drills, one 29m³ electric hydraulic shovel, two 21m³ diesel hydraulic shovels, two 21.4m³ wheel loaders, one 12m³ wheel loader, 14 136 tonne (t) trucks and ten 219t trucks.
Ore processing at Kışladag
The run-of-mine (ROM) ore is subjected to primary gyratory crushing, followed by secondary crushing. The output from the secondary crusher is directed to the third stage crushing via a high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) circuit.
The HPGR output is divided into two fractions, the central cut and the edge cut. The central cut is transferred to the heap leach facility via the overland conveying system, while the edge cut is recirculated to the HPGR for a second round of crushing.
A bypass system is in place to divert material to a 20,000t stockpile, facilitating maintenance of the overland conveyors. This stockpile is equipped with a reclaim system that feeds back onto the initial overland conveyor. Material is dozed as necessary to supply the reclaim system.
The adsorption, desorption, and recovery (ADR) plant, comprises five carbon column trains, each containing five columns. Gold is extracted from the pregnant solution by adsorption onto activated carbon.
The carbon is then periodically removed for gold recovery. The gold is stripped from the carbon using the standard Zadra process, which involves pressure stripping, electrowinning, and smelting to produce the final gold doré bar.
Kışladag site infrastructure
The project site can be accessed through a paved route approximately 5.3km long and 10m wide, connecting the mine site to the regional road between Ulubey and Esme.
Two power lines supply electricity to the Kışladag site. The Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS) provides power through a 27.7km long 154kV transmission line from the Usak industrial zone.
Additionally, the original power line from the Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation (TEDAS) provides electricity via a 25km-long 34.5kV transmission line from the Usak industrial zone, supplying power to a small portion of the facilities located near its route.
Fresh water for the project is sourced from a well field situated 13km east of the plant site. Five wells are currently in operation, with a pipeline delivering the water to the site. A dam was constructed in 2016 to serve as an additional reservoir to support operations.
Contractors involved
Hitachi Construction Machinery was contracted to supply eight types of machinery, combining electrical motor-driven type ultra-large hydraulic excavators and trolley-assist dump trucks for the project in October 2012. The company also delivered two EX3600 ultra-large hydraulic excavators in 2006.
Engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) company Proccea was awarded the contract for the supply, installation and commissioning works for the project’s ADR plant.
