Eldorado Gold’s Kisladag gold mine in Turkey officially opened on July 11, 2006. The mine was opened by the Minister of Energy, Dr. M. Hilmi Guler. Also attending the opening ceremony were Kayhan Kavas, the Governor of Usak, and Yves Brodeur, the Canadian Ambassador to Turkey. Amongst the 1700 guests were 250 of the Kisladag staff and their families.

“We appreciate the co-operation and support of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Governor of Usak Province and the support from all the local communities at Kisladag” commented Paul Wright, President and CEO of Eldorado Gold. “Turkey is a country where we have invested for over a decade and have successfully advanced a grass roots discovery to a producing mine. Kisladag mine, with a 14-year mine life, will provide direct employment for 350 people.”

The Kisladag mine officially commenced commercial production on July 1, 2006. Mine production continues according to the 2006 plan with some 500,000 t of ore being mined monthly. Gold production presently is some 350 oz/d and continues to increase consistent with the build up of heap inventory and the expansion of area under leach.

The Kisladgag gold mine is featured in our review of Turkey in the August issue of International Mining.