Dogu Biga Mining’s first project, the Kirazli gold and silver mine located in the northwestern province of Canakkale, has reached the construction stage and is waiting for its license to be extended. The other two projects, the Agi Dagi and Camyurt mines, are also located in the Canakkale province and will be developed after the Kirazli project. After the construction stage, which is expected to last approximately one year, the company said it will start production and looks to contribute to the country’s gold production goal. Dogu Biga Mining aims to achieve some 100 tonnes of gold production through its three project sites that will become operational soon, Istanbul-based media reported. This production volume corresponds to an economic value of some 48.2 billion lira ($6.6 billion/5.4 billion) in total, Daily Sabah quoted the company as saying earlier.
Turkey aims to reach a level where it produces 100 metric tonnes of gold per year in the next five years, Daily Sabah also said. The country produced a record-high 42 tonnes of gold in 2020, up from 38 tonnes in 2019, according to local media reports published last month. According to information published on the website of Alamos Gold, the Kirazli mine will have the capacity to produce close to 3 tonnes of gold per year on average, while the Agi Dagi and Camyurt mines will have an average annual production capacity of over 5 tonnes and some 2.6 tonnes, respectively. The amount to be paid to the country as tax through the Dogu Bida Mining’s projects is estimated to be around $1.72 billion (1.4 billion euro), the company noted. Dogu Biga Mining added that it looks to employ 1,000 people directly, and 2,000 people through service procurements.
The Kirazli property consists of 1,541 hectares of mineral tenure in two contiguous licenses. Mineral rights for all concessions comprising the Turkish assets are controlled by Dogu Biga, according to information published on the website of Alamos Gold.
Alamos Gold maintains an administrative office in Turkey’s capital Ankara as well as exploration offices in the towns of Etili and Sogutalan in the Biga district. These offices support the activities of the Canadian company at Kirazli, as well as the Agi Dagi and Camyurt projects which are located nearby.