Vancouver – A recent ceremony hosted by Eldorado Gold (ELD-T, EGO-X) to mark the official opening of the Kisladag gold mine in western Turkey attracted more than 1,700 guests, including 250 mine personnel and their families, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Governor of Usak, the Canadian Ambassador to Turkey, and many other local and regional dignitaries.
Eldorado President Paul Wright presided over the July 11 official opening of the heap-leach mine, which achieved commercial production just ten days earlier. He noted that the mine would have a life of at least 14 years and provide direct employment for 350 people.
Eldorado advanced Kisladag from a grassroots prospect discovered eight years ago to a modern, US$83.4-million mine expected to produce an estimated 120,000 oz. gold at an average cash cost of US$215 per oz. this year. Annual production would increase to an average of 240,000 oz. in 2007 and beyond.
Eldorado also operates the Sao Bento underground gold mine in Brazil, which produced 64,298 oz. gold last year, and is nearing the end of its productive life. The company has a new heap-leach mine under construction at its 85%-owned Tanjianshan project in China’s Qinghai Province. The operation is expected to produce a total of 1.01 million oz. gold at cash costs averaging US$227 per oz. over the mine life.
Production at Tanjianshan is slated to begin in October, and should total 40,000 oz., at cash costs averaging US$320 per oz., by year-end. Capital costs, including the purchase of a mining fleet, are estimated at US$71.5 million.
Eldorado aims to boost its total annual production to an estimated 500,000 oz. by 2008, with the addition of the Efemcukuru gold project in Turkey, presently in the permitting and feasibility phase. The company is spending US$14 million on exploration this year at its portfolio of projects in Turkey, Brazil and China.
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