Gold deposit found in Söğüt worth around $6B
24 DECEMBER 2020
Dr Fahrettin Poyraz, Director General of Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Turkey and Chairperson of Gübretaş, announced that around 3.5 million troy ounces of gold were found in the mining field of Gübretaş, a subsidiary of Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Turkey. The gold deposit in the northwestern province of Bilecik is estimated to be worth around $6 billion at current prices, Dr Poyraz said.
Poyraz explained that the site was allocated to Koza Gold company in 2008, but it was handed back to Gübretaş following the lawsuit filed by the company for the cancellation of the contract as Koza Altın did not fulfill its obligations.
“Drilling partially continued”
Dr Poyraz explained that there were drilling efforts in the past to determine the value of the ore reserves, saying “Drillings continued to some extent as the court procedures continued. We also acquired technical documents and data related to drilling from Koza. We started to update the report on the information we have taken over with an internationally accredited firm. This report was delivered to our institution as of the end of November”.
“We established Gübretaş Mining company"
In order to manage the process, Dr Poyraz noted that they established Gübretaş Mining company that belongs to Gübretaş. He pointed out that the presence in the mine field demonstrates a great value for the Turkish economy and Gübretaş.
“Ready to issue 1 million 920 thousand ounces reserve”
Dr Poyraz told "In the report we presented to the stock exchange, it was revealed that there were approximately 3.5 million ounces of ore reserves in the field. It is revealed that 1.92 million ounces of gold are proven reserves that are currently ready to be mined,” and he explained that a return of 83% is projected for the remaining 1.6 million ounces. It is estimated that the worth of 3.2 million troy ounces of gold reserves in the Söğüt gold mine is around $6 billion at current prices.
“Among the top 5 mine sites in the world”
According to Dr Poyraz, it can be the first mine site in Turkey to get a place among the top 5 gold mines in the world regarding density of gold. Considering that the world average is approximately 2-3 percent, the mine has an average ore-grade of 8.6 grams per ton which makes it an important site. This rate increases to 12 percent to 14 percent in some parts of the mine field which decreases the operating cost.
"We will extract it with our own means and teams"
Director General Poyraz said, "We could have given the operation to a different company or we could have partnered with another company, but we have decided that we will extract the gold with our own means, with our own teams, and with our own investments to bring value to Gübretaş, Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, and the Turkish agriculture,” and he continued, “We will bring the value we get from here to Gübretaş and bring it to the Turkish agriculture and economy with renovation investments and new investments in the company’s facilities. Our technical preparations and financing efforts continue rapidly. We aim to extract the first gold in two years and turn it into value for the Turkish economy ”.
"We see this as a national issue"
Dr Poyraz drew attention to the importance of gold for the economies of countries by saying, "The worth is pproximately $ 6 billion today, but its contribution to the Turkish economy will certainly be much higher. We see this as a national issue”. “We will quickly complete the technical work and the official procedures, and move on to the investment process,” he added.
“There are those who want to work in financing”
Stressing the report prepared by the internationally accredited organization on the Söğüt mine site will provide significant opportunities for the financing of this investment, Dr Poyraz said that there are organizations that are willing to work with them in terms of financing. He concluded that this investment will contribute significantly to the economy and employment in Söğüt and Bilecik.
