The Kisladag deposit is classified as a gold-only porphyry deposit due to its exceptionally low Cu%/Au ppm ratio (˜ 0.03; Baker et al., 2016). Significant analogues include the Maricunga porphyry deposits (9.8 Moz Au) in Chile and La Colosa (33.2 Moz Au) in Columbia. The low Cu/Au ratio may in part be related to the shallow level of emplacement (< 1 km) and volcanic setting, but also reflects the post-collisional extensional setting of the Miocene in western Turkey (Baker et al., 2016). Nonetheless, the deposit shares many characteristics with typical porphyry systems including: (i) multi-stage porphyry intrusions; (ii) a zoned alteration system that contain a high temperature potassic core, an outer white mica-tourmaline zone (analogous to phyllic alteration in typical porphyry deposits) and late, high level advanced argillic alteration; and (iii) porphyry style stockwork veins.

The Kisladag deposit occurs mainly within intrusive rocks of the eroded Miocene Beydagi stratovolcano, which was emplaced within and overlies regional pre-Cretaceous Menderes metamorphic rocks. A minor amount of mineralization occurs within the volcaniclastic rocks of the Beydagi volcanic sequence and metamorphic basement rocks near the contacts with the mineralized intrusions. Menderes metamorphic rocks comprise schist and gneiss, and are exposed in erosional windows to the north and northwest of the deposit. The contact between the metamorphic basement and the volcanic sequence is a gently dipping unconformity, but within the deposit it is an irregular contact where deeper level, intrusive portions of the volcanic sequence cut the metamorphic rocks. Foliation and compositional layering in the metamorphic sequence is subhorizontal to gently dipping, with local variations related to small-scale folds.

The Beydagi volcanic sequence contains a variety of rock types within and surrounding the deposit that display rapid lateral and vertical facies changes. Six primary map units are defined : volcanic conglomerate with monolithic porphyritic latite clasts (PBcg); porphyritic quartz latite flows (PBq); porphyritic latite flows commonly with flow-banded texture (PBf); volcaniclastic rocks including lithic tuffs, volcaniclastic breccia, sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone or ash-fall tuff (PBvc); monolithic porphyritic latite clast-supported breccia and minor mud-silt breccia to conglomerate (PBb); and porphyritic hypabyssal monzonite intrusions, which in the mine are further divided into four subunits.

Deformation within the Beydagi volcanic sequence is minor in and around the Kisladag deposit. Stratigraphic layering dips gently radially outward from the eroded center of the volcanic system, with no evidence of fault-related tilting; however, anomalously steep bedding (up to 45°) occurs locally adjacent to intrusions. The overall geometry of the volcanic sequence and topographic features surrounding Kisladag suggest that pre-erosion, the volcanic edifice rose ~1 km above the current erosional level.

There are no mappable fault offsets of stratigraphic or intrusive contacts, although mesoscopic structures consisting of low-offset fractures, joint sets, and veins are common. Fracturing is most
intense in rocks adjacent to intrusive contacts and is also well developed in a NE-NNE striking corridor that occurs just east of the deposit characterized by joints, silicified outcrops, and silicified sheeted fractures and breccia zones. This fracture zone has not experienced significant offset since emplacement of the volcanic rocks because in several locations lithologic contacts can be mapped across it without displacement.

The Kisladag open pit mine currently provides ore at a rate of 12.0 Mtpa for three-stage crushing followed by heap leaching. a. Annual mine production, inclusive of ore and waste, will peak at 42.5 Mtpa of total material movement in 2022, and will continue until 2034. The life of mine (LOM) stripping ratio is 1.12:1 based on a cut-off of 0.19 recoverable Au g/t.

Mining methods are by conventional open pit techniques with unit operations consisting of drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling by truck.

The mine fleet includes seven diesel drills, two electric drills, one 29 m3 electric hydraulic shovel, two 21 m3 diesel hydraulic shovels, two 21.4 m3 wheel loaders, one 12 m3 wheel loader, fourteen 136 tonne trucks and ten 219 tonne trucks. The major equipment is supported by a fleet of graders, dozers, a backhoe and water trucks.

Ore and waste are mined on 10 m benches. Ore will be hauled to the primary crusher for processing and waste rock will be placed in the south rock dump (SRD) and the north rock dump (NRD). A total of 158.2 Mt of waste rock will be placed in the SRD as the primary location from 2020 until 2026. A total of 34.9 Mt of waste rock will be placed in the NRD over the mine life starting in 2022. Between 2022 and 2026 both rock dumps will be used as best suited.

The final depth of the pit will be to the 520 m bench with a final wall height of 565 m to the highest point on the pit rim.

The ultimate pit haulage road allowances have been designed for 35 m width at 10% grade. This width will provide adequate room for ditches, outside berm and travel width for 219 tonne trucks. In the “Friable Zone” haulage road width has been increased to 40 m to allow for potential bench face instability.

Primary Crushing
The primary crusher is a 1,270 mm by 1,651 mm gyratory crusher capable of processing up to 2,000 t/h. Run-of-mine ore is hauled from the open pit and directly dumped into the primary crusher. The crushed ore is conveyed to a 20,000-tonne coarse ore stockpile. This is used as surge capacity to feed the secondary crushing circuit. The material is then conveyed to the secondary crushing circuit.

Secondary Screening and Crushing
The secondary crushing system operates as an open circuit where the crushed product from primary crushing is reclaimed by two apron feeders onto a conveyor belt feeding a 2.4 x 6.4 m double deck screen. The screen undersize product of less than 65 mm) is directed to the HPGR circuit and the screen oversize is conveyed to a 200-tonne secondary crusher feed bin. The aperture of the bottom deck of the screen will be adjusted so that the secondary crusher generates a product suitable as feed for the HPGR.

The bin is discharged by an apron feeder onto a conveyor belt feeding an MP1000 standard secondary cone crusher. The top size of the product from the secondary crushing will be compatible with the allowed maximum feed size for the HPGR.

Tertiary Screening and Crushing (HPGR)
The secondary screen undersize and secondary crusher product will combine and then feed the HPGR via an existing conveyor. The center cut product of the HPGR is directed to the overland crushing system. The edge product of the HPGR is recycled via a new set of conveyors back to the HPGR for a second pass through the system. Recirculating load can be adjusted in the field and the circuit will be designed to handle up to 100% recirculating load.

The engineering, procurement, and construction of a HPGR circuit to replace the existing tertiary crushing and screening circuit will be complete during the 3rd quarter of 2021 and will be handed over to operations for commissioning and ramp up at that time. [2020 AIF p.51]

Kisladag is an open pit mine and heap leach operation with a 3-stage crushing plant. The process plant will be modified with the construction of an HPGR unit to replace the tertiary crushing circuit. Concentrated cyanide solution will be added to the crushed ore prior to its stacking. Subject to further investigation, the crushed ore may be agglomerated to enhance percolation in the heap. The upgraded plant will maintain its current capacity to process 12.6 Mt per year, producing approximately 160,000 ounces of gold annually.

Ore is processed in a standard heap leach facility as follows

- The heap leach pad has a two-part liner system consisting of a layer of compacted low permeability clay soil or geosynthetic clay liner, and a 2mm thick polyethylene membrane liner textured on both sides for stability toe areas, and for regular areas non-textured or in some cases single sided textured linear low density polyethylene synthetic liner. HDPE liner is also used where ........