From a mineralogical perspective, the Gediktepe deposit is characterised as a massive sulphide skarn, in which processes such as weathering, leaching by the acidic (pH 5.5) groundwater, and oxidation of the sulphides in the upper regions have depleted sulphur and base metals, leaving an oxide zone.

Disseminated pyrite mineralisation, or veins of massive sulphide in the host rock, have sometimes been referred to as transitional sulphide, only because the massive sulphide mineralisation abundance is diminishing to waste grades as a result of phenomena other than post-emplacement alteration of the minerals.

The mineralisation at Gediktepe is associated with greenschist facies schist units, with the main mineralisation host rock unit being chlorite–sericite schist of the Upper Paleozoic. The mineralisation is thought to be developed syn-genetically in sedimentary units elongated along a north-east / south-west trending structure zone and metamorphosed to schist. Greenschist minerals are generally actinolite, chlorite, albite, and epidote.

The tabular mineralised zones, particularly within the sulphide horizon, dip gently to the west. In the north-eastern portion of the deposit, mineralised zones may be shallower dipping. In several locations the overall trend is abruptly terminated, and the tabular mineralised zones are displaced downwards to the north-east, indicating post-mineralisation activity. Progressing south-west to north-east across the d ........

Open pit mining is planned to be carried out on 2.5 m flitches using small excavators (3–4 m3 capacity) and trucks. Drilling and blasting will be required. All mining services will be performed by a suitably qualified and experienced Turkish mining contractor. It is currently anticipated that the same mining contractor will provide initial construction services, particularly construction of the tailings storage facility (TSF).

Grade control to determine material types and ore boundaries will be performed based on blasthole sampling and assaying, and under the control of the mine geologists. Feed to the process plants is expected to be a combination of both direct tipping and reclaim from ROM stockpiles to ensure optimal feed to the process plant, particularly for sulphides.

On the eastern side of the pit, if the bench faces are cleanly developed and scaled along the foliation such that the bench face slope is formed by the foliation at an average angle of 40°, rockfall hazards will be mostly removed and a minimum 6 m-wide catch bench would likely provide adequate rockfall protection in most cases. Leaving a 6 m-wide catch bench in the slope at 10 m vertical intervals would result in an inter-ramp slope angle of 29°. In the overburden, it is recommended that 5 m-high production benches with bench faces cut at 45° and a minimum 5.7 m-wide catch bench be developed at 5 m vertical intervals (single benches). This bench configuration results in an i ........

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