Ariana Resources plc (LON:AAU) has told investors it is making “solid progress” with the operational ramp-up at its Kiziltepe gold mine in Turkey, which is now largely complete.
The processing plant is currently operating to design specifications, but Ariana is considering various operational enhancements to increase mill throughout from 150,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 180,000 tpa.
More gold, more quickly
As well as that, the company is recovering more gold and silver than the feasibility study had projected, while leach times are also faster than expected.
The average ore grade has also increased during the ramp-up to around 2.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 24 g/t silver, with further increases expected during the second half of the year.
Ariana added that doré pours are now happening on almost a weekly basis, with around 1,000oz of gold and 7,000oz of silver having been sold to the refinery during the period to May 2017 at prices ranging from US$1,275-US$1,225/oz and US$18.20-US$16.20/oz respectively.
CEO Sener ‘very pleased’
"We are very pleased to provide this interim report on the solid progress of operational ramp-up at the Kiziltepe Mine,” said chief executive Kerim Sener.
“The considerably better than expected performance of the processing plant has ensured that production is currently occurring at a rate which will meet our operational expectations during ramp-up.”
What’s to come over the next few months?
Looking ahead, the construction of the second stage of the tailings dam is set is set to begin shortly.
That will be supported by the introduction of a night shift at the project which will help to increase production from the open pit to 20,000m3 (ore and waste) a week.
On top of that, Ariana said it has identified additional ore zones that sit outside of the resource block model and will now be scheduled for production.
Ariana shares gained 2% in morning trade to sit at 1.74p.