Overview
Status | Temporary Suspension |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Processing |
- Smelting
- Carbon re-activation kiln
- Heap leach
- Carbon in column (CIC)
- Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
- Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
- Cyanide (reagent)
|
Mine Life | 5 years (as of Jan 1, 2017) |
On October 14, 2019, the Company suspended all construction activities on its Kirazli project following the Turkish government's failure to grant a routine renewal of the Company’s mining licenses, despite the Company having met all legal and regulatory requirements for their renewal. |
Latest News | Alamos Gold Reports Delay in Mining Concession Renewal for Kirazli Project October 14, 2019 |
Source:
p. 21
Mineral rights for the concessions comprising Kirazli are controlled by Dogu Biga, a Turkish subsidiary of the Alamos Gold Inc.
Deposit Type
- Epithermal
- Breccia pipe / Stockwork
Summary:
The principal model for gold mineralization at the Kirazli Gold Property is a high-sulphidation, epithermal gold deposit. Examples of this kind of deposit in the world are Yanacocha, Pierina and Alto Chicama in Peru. Most high-sulphidation deposits are large, low-grade bulk-tonnage systems (Yanacocha), though vein-hosted high-sulphidation deposits also occur (El Indio).
At Kirazli, gold mineralization is hosted within heterolithic phreatomagmatic/phreatic breccia bodies cutting through Miocene-age andesitic tuffs. Mineralization can generally be subdivided into two main types:
- A regional low-grade gold zone that underlies much of Kirazli, broadly enveloping the high-grade gold zones. This low-grade mineralization occurs both above and below the redox horizon. The widespread, low-grade mineralization is interpreted to be early and may be associated with the broad epithermal alteration that resulted in the chalcedonic silica (the second silica event);
- Four elongate bodies of high-grade gold mineralization occur in the advanced argillic zone overlapping slightly the bottom of the 1 km-long silica cap and the silica roots. High-grade gold mineralization also shows a strong spatial relationship with the margins of heterolithic breccia bodies. These bodies transect the redox boundaries. The subhorizontal section below the silica cap is in oxide or sometimes in transition zone while the bottom of the vertical section associated with the silica roots is in sulphide.
- The first high-grade body (A) is followed over more than 400 m in a northsouth direction from section 30650N to section 30250N. It coincides with the subvertical silica root and the phreatic breccia pipe and extends in the advanced argillic alteration mostly east of the root. Towards the top, it flares and extends subhorizontally eastward for 100 m below the silica cap end the subhorizontal eastern extension of the phreatic breccia but affects its lower portion too. The highest grade section coincides with the flat portion below the silica cap. Grades there may be spectacular as in drill hole KD-09 with 4.6 g/t Au over 38.5 m.
- The second high-grade body (B) is followed over 150 m in a north-south direction from section 30100N to section 29950N. It coincides with the advanced argillic alteration immediately west of the silica root but does not affect it. Towards the top, it extends westward for 50 m below the silica cap and affects its lower portion too.
- The third high-grade body (C) is followed over 250 m in a north-south direction from section 30100N to section 29850N. It coincides with the advanced argillic alteration immediately east of the silica root but does not affect it. Towards the top, it extends eastward for 50 m below the silica cap and affects its lower portion too. The highest grade portion coincides with the flat portion below the silica cap. Grades there may be spectacular too as in drill hole 10-KD-143 with 5.4 g/t Au over 39.5 m.
- The fourth high-grade body (D) is followed over 100 m in a north-south direction from section 29900N to section 29800N. It only affects advanced argillic altered andesites and phreatic breccias following a vertical direction until it bends to the west below the silica cap.
Summary:
The Kirazli deposit will be mined by conventional open pit hard rock mining methods. Alamos Gold plans to utilize a contract mining company to move the ore and waste from the pit. The Mineral Reserve is the total of the Proven and Probable material that is planned for processing within the mine plan. Oxide and transition ore at Kirazli will be crushed, agglomerated, conveyed and stacked on to a heap leach pad where it will be cyanide leached for the recovery of gold and silver.
During pre-production, waste will be mined to construct the heap leach facility (KHLF) foundation. Any ore incurred during pre-production will be stockpiled and re-handled to the crusher once the facilities are ready for ore processing. After a six month ramp-up period, the mine is expected to produce ore at a rate of 15,000 t/d (5.25 Mt/a) for five years. Waste produced over the mine life will be used for construction of the KHLF foundation, backfilled into the pits once mining is complete or sent to the waste rock storage facility.
Flow Sheet:
Crusher / Mill Type | Model | Size | Power | Quantity |
Jaw crusher
|
|
|
|
1
|
Cone crusher
|
|
|
|
1
|
Summary:
The Kirazli Project has been designed as a 15,000 t/d heap leach operation utilizing a multiple-lift, single-use leach pad. The ore will be processed by primary crushing and open circuit secondary crushing.
ROM at nominally minus 800 mm (P100 will be 800 mm and P80 will be 64.7 mm), will be fed into the dump hopper that discharges using an apron feeder at a rate of 833 t/h. The dump hopper area is equipped with water and compressed air for dust suppression. The apron feeder will discharge into a vibratory grizzly that separates the ore at 150 mm. Undersize from the vibratory grizzly discharges onto the primary crushing discharge conveyor. Oversize from the vibratory grizzly is fed to the primary crusher. A rock breaker will be installed for breaking the occasional rocks larger than 800 mm.
The primary crusher will reduce the ore size to a P100 of 260 mm (P80 of 60 mm), at a rate of 833 t/h. Ore discharging from the primary crusher will be combined with the underflow from the vibratory grizzly and conveyed using the primary crushing discharge conveyor, to the stockpile feed conveyor. The stockpile feed conveyor is equipped with a weight scale for material balances. The coarse ore stockpile will have a live capacity of nine hours. The coarse ore stockpile will be continuously reclaimed using two of the three reclaim apron feeders (two operating, one standby).
Coarse ore from the reclaim feeders will be discharged onto the reclaim conveyor where it will pass through the reclaim conveyor weigh scale, cross belt magnet and metal detector. The reclaim conveyor will feed the secondary crushing screen. The secondary crushing screen will be equipped with a dust suppression system to remove any fugitive dust. The secondary crushing screen will be a double deck banana type with a top deck aperture of 60 mm and a bottom deck aperture of 30 mm. Undersize from the secondary crushing screen will discharge to the secondary crushing screen discharge conveyor which feeds the secondary crushing discharge conveyor. Oversize from the secondary crushing screen will feed the secondary crusher (standard cone crusher) at a nominal rate of 398 dry metric tonnes per hour (t/h) and discharge onto the secondary crushing discharge conveyor. The secondary crusher will reduce the ore size to P100 of 63 mm (P80 of 26 mm).
Processing
- Smelting
- Carbon re-activation kiln
- Heap leach
- Carbon in column (CIC)
- Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
- Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
- Cyanide (reagent)
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
The following design criteria are for engineering, design and specification of the process requirements for the Kirazli Project. The process facilities encompass the following operations for 15,000 dry metric tonnes per day (dMt/d) operation:
- Primary crushing and coarse ore stockpile;
- Secondary crushing;
- Agglomeration;
- Heap leaching;
- Carbon adsorption, desorption and recovery;
- Electrowinning and refining;
- Water treatment; and
- Reagents.
Crushed ore from the secondary discharge conveyor feeds the overland conveyor at a rate of 833 t/h. Overland conveyor will also receive Portland cement at a rate of 2.5 kg/t of ore from the cement silo prior to discharging into the agglomeration drum. Barren solution will be added to the agglomeration drum to bring the ore moisture content to 7.5%. The agglomerated ore is discharged onto the heap feed conveyor where concentrated sodium cyanide solution is dripped onto the ore at a rate o ........

Recoveries & Grades:
Commodity | Parameter | Avg. LOM |
Gold
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 81 |
Gold
|
Head Grade, g/t
| 0.79 |
Silver
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 31 |
Silver
|
Head Grade, g/t
| 12 |
Projected Production:
Commodity | Units | Avg. Annual | LOM |
Gold
|
koz
| 104 | 540 |
Silver
|
koz
| ......  | ......  |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Stripping / waste ratio
| 1.45 * |
Daily ore mining rate
| 15,000 t * |
Waste tonnes, LOM
| 37,886 kt * |
Ore tonnes mined, LOM
| 26,104 kt * |
Total tonnes mined, LOM
| 63,990 kt * |
Daily processing capacity
| 15,000 t * |
Daily processing rate
| 14,400 t * |
Annual ore mining rate
| 5,252 kt * |
* According to 2017 study.
Reserves at December 31, 2021:
Mineral Resources Cut-off - 0.2 g/t Au.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven
|
670 kt
|
Gold
|
1.15 g/t
|
25 koz
|
Proven
|
670 kt
|
Silver
|
16.94 g/t
|
365 koz
|
Probable
|
33,191 kt
|
Gold
|
0.68 g/t
|
727 koz
|
Probable
|
33,191 kt
|
Silver
|
9.27 g/t
|
9,892 koz
|
Proven & Probable
|
33,861 kt
|
Gold
|
0.69 g/t
|
752 koz
|
Proven & Probable
|
33,861 kt
|
Silver
|
9.42 g/t
|
10,257 koz
|
Indicated
|
3,056 kt
|
Gold
|
0.42 g/t
|
42 koz
|
Indicated
|
3,056 kt
|
Silver
|
2.71 g/t
|
266 koz
|
Inferred
|
7,694 kt
|
Gold
|
0.61 g/t
|
152 koz
|
Inferred
|
7,694 kt
|
Silver
|
8.71 g/t
|
2,155 koz
|
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