By Kerim Ulker
Koc Holding increases its investments in the goldmining. The company’s subsidiary Demir Export has decided to carry out its first operation abroad in Ireland. The company signed a letter of intention with Irish Conroy Gold& Natural Resources on mining license in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Accordingly, Demir Export will gradually acquire 57.5% share in mines following the final agreement on the condition that it makes necessary investment in the project to become ready for the construction. In this context, the company has currently paid around TRY 80m for the preliminary agreement. The amount will increase in the new exploration processes and fields to be developed.
The letter of intention covers 12 licenses including two licenses on the Longford-Down Massif located in Northern Ireland and nine licenses in the Republic of Ireland except Clontibret.
The Clontibret field holds 517,000 ounces of gold, according to report including the Australasian Joint Ore Reserve Committee’s Code (JORC) prepared by limited researches. The potential fields in Clontibret and other licenses are planned to be developed gradually.
