Jane Bordenave talks to David Bickford and Ahmet Uslu of Tüprag Metal Mining Industry and Trade about the largest open pit gold mine in Turkey and the company’s subterranean plans for the future.
Founded in 1986, Tüprag Metal Mining Industry and Trade has been operating as a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold since 1995. Although it belongs to a Canadian parent company with a global footprint, Tüprag itself is an entirely Turkish business. The firm has two major projects—Kisladag and Efemçukuru, both located in the west of the country. The organisation is overseen by geologist and managing director David Bickford, who has been working for the company since its founding, and, on the ground, engineering manager Ahmet Uslu.
The Ki┼ƒlada─ƒ mine site, located in U┼ƒak Province, hosts the largest open pit gold mine in Turkey, producing low-grade gold ore with a throughput of 10 million tonnes per year. It was developed from an exploration into a fully operational site over a period of 10 years, with construction taking place in 2004 and commercial production commencing in 2006. “Right from the very start, this site has been overseen very carefully, because it was only the second gold mine to be developed in Turkey,” says Uslu. “This careful management has meant that we have kept it as one of the lowest cost producers not just in the country, but in the world.” This coming year, Tüprag will be investing $40 million to increase production to 12 million tonnes per annum.
Although it will still be a gold mine, Efemçukuru, on the Aegean coast, is a very different operation. This deposit is high-grade epithermal ore that will be accessed through an underground mine and processed through a milling and flotation circuit on site. From there, the concentrate will be transferred to Ki┼ƒlada─ƒ for recovery. This new mine represents a $152 million investment for the company, with production expected to begin in late 2011. “From a footprint point of view, Efemçukuru is smaller than Ki┼ƒlada─ƒ because much of the work will be taking place beneath the surface,” explains Uslu. “It’s also a very different mine in terms of specification—there’s a lot of preparatory groundwork to be done before we can even think about production.”
As would be expected, Tüprag uses a lot of static heavy machinery on site, as well as vehicles such as trucks and loaders. In order to maintain a high level of production, choosing the right supplier is important. “For the most part, we source our equipment from big-name companies: we use Caterpillar for the mining machinery such as trucks, dozers, graders and loaders, and we use Hitachi for items such as excavators,” says Bickford. What is most important for him is that any company Tüprag does business with can provide the organisation with a full-spectrum service. “Part of the reason we use brands such as Caterpillar and Hitachi is that they are well established, with a good reputation. We know that by sourcing our machinery and equipment from them, items are less likely to break down and we will have a reliable supply of replacement parts. We will also sign maintenance agreements with them whereby a member of their staff is seconded to instruct some of our employees in how to carry out general maintenance on any new purchases.”
However, there are some occasions when it makes sense to use local suppliers, rather than those with a global presence. “When it comes to commodities such as lime, explosives, oil or petrol, we use local Turkish companies, as this is both the most economic and reliable way of sourcing them,” Bickford explains.
Environmental issues and consideration for the local community are very important aspects of Tüprag’s activities in the area. At a very basic level, oil and petrol suppliers must be able to remove used oil from the mine site and recycle it. “Carrying out an environmental impact assessment and then submitting it to the government is one of the preliminary stages when applying for a mining permit,” explains Bickford. “We consult with the local community and explain to them what will be happening; and we also assess how we can minimise our impact on the area.” There are many ways in which Tüprag does this, including eliminating chemical pollution and reducing noise pollution as much as possible. “We use heap leach technology at Ki┼ƒlada─ƒ to extract the gold from the ore, which requires the use of cyanide,” explains Uslu. “Obviously, this is a hazardous chemical so it is of the utmost importance to us that neither it nor any other harmful residues can be discharged into the environment.”
The business is committed to working with the local communities, not just to protect the towns and countryside, but also to create employment opportunities. According to Bickford, “currently, 80 per cent of our manual workforce is from the local population—a figure that we are hoping to raise to 90 per cent within the next few years. We have been fortunate really in that before our arrival this was a largely agricultural community, which already had an ethic of hard work. All we had to do was take that enthusiasm and apply it to our industry.”
All new recruits are put through a comprehensive orientation and training programme, with all employees being given annual training updates and skills reviews. To ensure the success of the continuous professional development, each employee is given training targets for the year, which can be used to measure his or her progress within the company.
Having been part of the industry for nearly 25 years, Tüprag has extensive knowledge of the gold mining sector in Turkey—experience that enables it to move forward successfully. Within five years, Bickford expects bothKi┼ƒlada─ƒ and Efemçukuru to be working at full capacity and for another project to be in development. Given its history and the prestige of its parent company, there is no doubt that Tüprag Metal Mining Industry and Trade has a shining future in Turkey. http://www.tuprag.com/
