Ariana Resources PLC (AIM:AAU, ASX:AA2) managing director Kerim Sener spoke with Proactive about the company’s latest progress at the Tavşan gold project in Turkey.
He discussed the start of heap leach operations, the move toward first gold pour, and how Ariana is optimising its operations in response to record gold prices.
Proactive: Kerim, very good to speak with you. Tavşan is now fully operational — it's a big milestone for Ariana. What does this mean for near-term gold production and cash flow, especially with gold now about $4,000 an ounce?
Kerim Sener: Good to be speaking to you again, Stephen. It’s a pleasure to join you. Yes, of course, we are very pleased with the latest developments at Tavşan. We were in the process of completing the final permitting hurdle, which required provincial sign-off, and that has now been achieved to enable the heap leach to go into production.
We have already been producing out of Tavşan for the best part of 20 months, with high-grade ore being mined and trucked to Kiziltepe for processing through the CIL plant. Now, we’ll have a dual stream process — high-grade ore continuing to go to Kiziltepe for enhanced gold and silver recovery, while lower-grade run-of-mine ore that we’ve been stockpiling will go to the heap leach.
We’ve actually got about 800,000 tonnes of ore currently stockpiled and awaiting loading onto the heap leach pads. That process is now underway, and the ore will soon be irrigated. We’ll start to see the very first gold coming out of the heap leach process.
Proactive: Kerim, how does this dual processing strategy impact overall production efficiency and recovery rates?
Kerim Sener: The recovery rates for the lower-grade ore typical of Tavşan are in the range of about 70% to 80%, which is normal for a gold heap leach. For the CIL processing plant, we’ve seen recoveries going up to 90%. So, there’s a substantial improvement in gold and silver recovery through the CIL process, which certainly pays for the trucking operation for the high-grade ore going to Kiziltepe.
Proactive: With approximately 800,000 tonnes of ore already stockpiled and operations underway, what are your expectations for first commercial gold production, and how soon could investors see dividends from Zenit?
Kerim Sener: We’re expecting commercial production to commence over the next few months. We’ll begin irrigation later in October, and from there, we expect the first gold pour before the end of this year. Following that, early next year we’ll move into full commercial production. Dividend expectations will then be determined after that.
Proactive: Given the record gold price environment, how are you positioning yourself to maximise returns, not just at Tavşan but across your broader portfolio in Turkey and beyond?
Kerim Sener: That’s an important question. The last optimisations we did for our open pits in Turkey, at both Kiziltepe and Tavşan, were undertaken at $2,750 per ounce. The situation has changed quite dramatically, and now we’re in uncharted territory. We need to go through another process of optimisation, which will take some time.
Assuming gold prices remain at these elevated levels, or move higher, we’ll need to adjust our optimisations, which affects mine design and scheduling. There’s a lot of work ahead with Zenit to ensure we remain on top of the changing gold price environment. It’s not as simple as saying the gold price has gone up so we can mine more gold — there are technical and economic considerations that come with that optimisation process.
It’s great to be in this situation, of course, but there are technical challenges that flow from it.
Proactive: Absolutely, Kerim. I hope you'll keep us updated on progress across all operations. Thank you very much for speaking with us.