Indicating that the mine will expire in 2019, Çayeli Bakır İşletmeleri started executing its search for additional reserves on the license site on a wider scale.

Çayeli Bakır İşletmeleri, executing exploration operations to find new reserves, takes soil samples as well as drilling methods during exploration. The company, predicting that the current mine reserve will be depleted in 2019, executes mine searching activities in an area of about 90 km2 in its license area. In line with these operations, soil samples are taken from 2.300 different points within the licensed area and then the samples are sent to the laboratory for analysis.

Iain Anderson, Managing Director of Çayeli Bakır, said: “Providing the current mine prices remain the same, we expect the mine life will expire and the mine will be closed in 2019. We would like to continue our mine exploration activities both for our employees and for the company. We have accelerated our already ongoing mine exploration activities in this respect. We conduct operations on our license area covering about 33 villages. All of our neighbors we have visited to explain such activities until now gave their support in this respect. I would like to extend my gratitude to each and every one of them".