Ziraat Bankası and GÜBRETAŞ Maden Yatırımları A.Ş., in order to bring the gold resource in the Söğüt Mining Field belonging to GÜBRETAŞ Maden Yatırımları A.Ş., a subsidiary of Turkish Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, to the country's economy. Cooperation - Loan Agreement was signed for the preparation period of the Söğüt Gold Mine Project.

GÜBRETAŞ Maden Yatırımları A.Ş., a subsidiary of Turkish Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, will bring 3.5 million ounces (109 tons) of gold resources found in the mining area in Bilecik's Söğüt district to the country's economy with domestic means. In this context, General Manager of Turkish Agricultural Credit Cooperatives and GÜBRETAŞ Maden Yatırımları A.Ş. Chairman of the Board of Directors With the participation of Fahrettin Poyraz and Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar, a cooperation - loan agreement regarding the preparation phase of the Söğüt Gold Mine Project was signed.
The mine, which was discovered in the field belonging to GÜBRETAŞ and transferred to a private company to be operated in 2008, was canceled due to the said company's failure to fulfill its obligations. After the legal process was completed in December 2019, all rights of the field were registered in the name of GÜBRETAŞ. In March 2021, the said license area was transferred to GÜBRETAŞ Maden Yatırımları A.Ş. As a result of the investigations carried out at the mine site, a total of 3.5 million ounces of gold resources, 1 million 920 thousand ounces of which are reserves, have been reported.

$135 million credit limit allocation

Pointing out that the presence in the mining area reveals a significant value for the Turkish economy and Turkish Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, General Manager of Turkish Agricultural Credit Cooperatives and GÜBRETAŞ Maden Yatırımları A.Ş. Chairman of the Board of Directors Fahrettin Poyraz said, “Our cooperation is not only limited to the agricultural dimension, we also develop joint projects in different sectors in the developing conditions of Turkey. Today, we gathered about the financing of the Söğüt Gold Mine Project of GÜBRETAŞ Maden AŞ, which was established as a subsidiary of GÜBRETAŞ, the largest subsidiary of Tarım Kredi. There was a limit allocation of $135 million to be used this year. Hopefully, as in all our other activities, we will cooperate in the next period to provide the financing needs for the operation of the Söğüt Gold Mine Field and the making of the investments under the leadership of Ziraat Bank.

It is aimed to produce 6-7 tons of gold per year.

Pointing out that Turkey's 2020 gold import is 288 tons and its production is 42 tons, Poyraz said, "With the implementation of the Söğüt project, the current gold production will be increased by at least 15%. Our mineral resource has a remarkable gold grade in Turkey and in the world. The EIA process was initiated in February 2021 in order to quickly put the identified ore deposit into production. Other processes are also ongoing. There are two separate ore veins named Akbaştepe and Korudanlık at the project site, and 95% of the mine's operation will be done with underground production management. It is aimed to produce an average of 6-7 tons of gold per year at the ore processing facility planned to be built in the field.

800 people will be employed

Stating that the size of the investment planned to be made in the field is foreseen as approximately 450 million dollars, Poyraz said, “We will carry out the operation of the mine with our company GÜBRETAŞ Mining Investments. With the power of GÜBRETAŞ Mining Investments Inc. and the support of Tarım Kredi, we decided to extract this mine with our own means, our own teams, and our own investments. We aim to employ approximately 800 people when the investment is completed and full capacity production is started. With the loan agreement and cooperation we signed, Ziraat Bank will provide a loan for the preparation period before the project financing phase of the Söğüt Gold Mine Project. Our mining investment will be established with the latest technology and will continue to operate as an environmentally and human-friendly enterprise in accordance with our country and international standards. With this financing, we will start the engineering and construction works of the project. We will start production in our mine here in 2 years and bring it to the Turkish economy,"

“Our cooperation will be beneficial for our country and nation”

In his statement, Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar said, “Ziraat Bank applies a selective credit policy in export-oriented projects that will contribute positively to the current account balance. As our President has mentioned in his recent economic reforms, we will continue to take part in such projects that will carry our independence with production to the future. We see that gold imports are high from time to time and have negative effects on the current account balance.
These and similar projects will contribute to the healthy establishment of the current account balance. I think this project is a good example of bank-real sector cooperation. In addition to this loan, which we will extend regarding the preparation phase, we also plan to take part in the project financing phase. I wish this cooperation to be beneficial for our country and nation.
After the speeches, the cooperation and loan agreement was signed.