Söğüt Gold Mine - GÜBRETAŞ MADEN YATIRIMLARI A.Ş.

Söğüt Gold Mine, the first and strategic investment of Gübretaş Maden Yatırımları A.Ş., is located on the Söğüt-Eskişehir highway, within the borders of Söğüt district of Bilecik province, in the field with license number 82050. Business area; It is located 35 km southeast of Bilecik city center, 20 km northeast of Bozüyük district and only 6 km southeast of Söğüt district center.

Sogut Project Location Map

History of Söğüt Gold Mine

Historical Development: From Ancient Times to the Present
Traces of Early Settlement and Bronze Age Mining

Söğüt and its surroundings emerged on the stage of history as one of the early settlement centers of Anatolia. With the Early Bronze Age, the agriculture-based village life of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods was replaced by a more organized, urbanization-based settlement system. In this process, mining activities as well as pottery production gained significant momentum. Tin deposits discovered around İnhisar in the 1960s indicate that bronze production may have occurred in the region.

Mining in the Hittite, Phrygian and Roman Periods

B.C. Bilecik and Söğüt basin, which came under Hittite and then Phrygian rule in 2000, has been an important settlement and trade center throughout history due to its geological riches and being a transition region between Thrace and Anatolia. During the Roman period, the region was located within the borders of the province of Bithynia and Pontus and was in a strategic position for the extraction of gold, iron and other metallic mines during this period.

Numerous ancient hearths, splits, wells, waste piles, slotted stones and grinding areas identified in Korudanlık and its surroundings; It reveals that the region was actively used for mining during the Roman period. Especially the density of crushing-grinding stones and ore preparation areas shows that there is a serious metal processing activity here.

Mining Activities in the Modern Era

Republic Period Studies

Between 1936 and 1944, Kışladere mineralization was exploited for antimonite and the presence of wolframine in our country was detected for the first time in this mineralization.

Between 1965 and 1967, upon the application of the license holder, a 175-meter-long exploration gallery was opened in the Korudanlık area by the Mining Assistance Commission. The first observations obtained during this period necessitated a closer evaluation of the potential in the region. Afterwards, field surveys were carried out by MTA (Mineral Research and Exploration) and potential mineralization areas were documented with preliminary maps.

2000s

With the increasing interest of the private sector in the field of mining in the 2000s, systematic mineral exploration activities were initiated in Söğüt district. During this period, drilling activities were carried out by various private companies and gold mineralizations with high economic value were detected.

Gübretaş Mining Investments Inc. Period

In 2020, Gübretaş Maden Yatırımları A.Ş., a subsidiary of Turkish Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, took over the Söğüt Gold Mine field and made significant investments for industrial-scale gold production in the region.

• 2021- Field infrastructure and construction works have started.

• 2023- Production started.

• Korudanlık and Akbaştepe mineralizations were determined as the main production areas in the project.

Woodland mineralization is not only a geological potential; It is also an ore field with historical depth and great scientific and sectoral value. The field, which has been operated since ancient times, has become one of Türkiye's strategic gold production centers by combining it with modern mining understanding.

Mine Operation Method

At Söğüt Gold Mine, ore production will be carried out in two ways, open pit and underground mining.

Open pit mining is an surface excavation operation designed according to the shaping of the orebody without using underground mining methods.

It is essential that all operations be carried out as mechanized as possible: open pit mining equipment such as diesel-hydraulic drilling machines, excavators, loaders, earth-moving trucks, graders, dozers are used.

Underground ore production method in underground mines is a combination of “Cut & Fill” mining and “Sublevel Stoping” mining methods.

Since selective mining method is required at Söğüt Gold Mine, the majority of the operation is expected to be carried out by the cut & fill method.

In both methods, face development is required. A face-wall driving face development cycle takes place in the cycle of: drilling-blasting-ventilation-loading/transport ground support-service.

It is essential that all operations are carried out as mechanized as possible.

The produced ore in the Söğüt Gold Mine is stockpiled after being classified according to its oxide and sulphide content in the ore stockpile areas. The gold and silver in the classified run-of-mine ore are recovered in the process plant. Ore processing is carried out in oxide units or sulfide units, depending on the ore characteristics.

The Söğüt Project is geotectonically located within the Sakarya Zone, just north of the İzmirAnkara Suture Zone. The economically significant mineralization within the project area consists of two main zones: Akbaştepe and Korudanlık. Both mineralized zones have an east-west orientation and dip to the north. Akbaştepe is located in the southern part of the project area and has a steeply dipping (65–70°) refractory mineralization. Korudanlık is located to the north, with a lower dip angle (40–50°), and is fully oxidized.

Mineral Resource / Reserve Figures

Production

Ore extraction operations at the Söğüt Gold Mine are carried out through the integrated application of open-pit and underground mining methods.

Underground production is carried out using a combination of the "Cut and Fill" and "Sublevel Caving" methods; however, emphasis is placed on the "Cut and Fill" method, particularly due to the nature of the ore, which requires selective mining. In both production methods, face advance serves as the basis, and the production process is conducted within a specific cycle.

This cycle is a production cycle consisting of the steps of drilling, blasting, ventilation, loading/hauling, ground support, and servicing.

Following this cycle, run-of-mine ores are classified according to their oxide and sulfide contents and stored in stockpiles; subsequently, depending on the ore characteristics, they are routed to either oxide or sulfide beneficiation units and processed in the ore beneficiation plant.

An annual gold production capacity of approximately 1.5–2 tonnes has been reached at the Phase 1 facility, and the target is to increase this capacity to 6–7 tonnes per year once the project reaches full capacity.

New Investment Decision

Under a management decision made in October 2024, plans are in place to increase the ore processing capacity of the Phase 1 facility from 240,000 tons to 400,000 tons per year and to construct a Phase 2 facility with an annual capacity of 400,000 tons.

A total investment of USD 205 million has been approved for this purpose.

https://www.kap.org.tr/tr/Bildirim/1344268

Resources, Reserves and Mine Life

According to mineral resource and reserve estimates reported in accordance with national UMREK and international JORC standards, the Söğüt Gold Mine contains approximately 3.5 million ounces of gold resources and 1.92 million ounces of gold reserves.

Based on these figures, the Söğüt Gold Mine has an estimated mine life of approximately 20 years, including at least 15 years of production. The Mineral Resource and Reserve Report was prepared in October 2020 by Competent Persons at RPM Global Türkiye Danışmanlık Hizmetleri ve Ticaret A.Ş., in accordance with the JORC and UMREK codes.

https://www.kap.org.tr/tr/Bildirim/903337 (UMREK TABLOSU)

https://www.kap.org.tr/tr/Bildirim/891592 (JORC TABLOSU)