Öksüt History

The Öksüt Mine is located in the Kayseri province of south-central Türkiye, 295 km to the southeast of the capital city of Ankara and 48 km directly south of the city of Kayseri. 

The project was originally an exploration joint venture between Centerra and Stratex International Plc., formed in 2009, to explore the Öksüt Gold Project. Centerra earned an initial 50% equity interest in the project by advancing $3 million to the joint venture through October 2011 and acquired an additional 20% interest in the project in October of 2012 with an additional contribution of $3 million, which brought Centerra’s equity interest to 70%. In January 2013, Centerra purchased Stratex’s remaining 30% interest in the Öksüt Project for a $20 million cash payment and a 1% Net Smelter Return royalty on the project, subject to a $20 million cap and as of January 16, 2013 Centerra owned 100% of the Project.

Centerra published the first Mineral Resource estimate on the project in February 2013 (effective at December 31, 2012) and on February 19, 2014, Centerra announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Project. An updated Mineral Resource estimate was published in February 2015 (effective at December 31, 2014) and on July 28, 2015, Centerra announced the positive feasibility study results on the Öksüt Project and a development decision to proceed with construction. A 43-101 Technical Report was completed and filed on SEDAR in September 2015.

Öksüt was planned as a conventional truck and shovel open pit heap leach mining operation with a stacking rate of 11,000 tonnes per day. The initial eight-year mine life was expected to process approximately 1.2 million contained ounces of gold from two open pits, the Keltepe pit and the smaller Güneytepe pit.

In January 2018, the Company received the final permits required, the Pastureland Permit, for the Öksüt Project which paved the way for the project’s future development and in late March 2018 construction activities commenced.

After just twenty-two months of construction, the first gold pour occurred January 31, 2020, and the mine achieved commercial production as of May 31, 2020.

Öksüt Gold Property Conceptual Layout