Driving growth in production and cash flow

We declared commercial production at Ada Tepe in June 2019, a significant milestone that was the result of many years of hard work by our local team in cooperation with local stakeholders. The project was completed on time and came in under budget, and achieved full ramp up within three months, a remarkable achievement in the mining industry.

Ada Tepe is one of the highest grade open pit gold mines in the world and is expected to contribute significant free cash flow generation to DPM’s portfolio.

Overview

Ada Tepe is the first greenfield mine in Bulgaria in the last 40 years. The mine site is located approximately three kilometres south of the town of Krumovgrad in southeastern Bulgaria.

While using a conventional open-pit mining, crushing, milling and flotation processing circuit, production employs innovative methods for water management and mining waste management. The operation is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and employs 90% local people. The mine produces gold concentrate which is then transported for further treatment.

Building strong partnerships

Over the course of 15 years, our team has gained valuable experience as a responsible employer and an innovative mining operation focused on responsibility to people and for the environment.

We continue to work with a vision for the sustainable future of the region. The shared desire for prosperity, not only in the years of production, but also in the future, led us to introduce a unique funding program for micro, small and medium-sized businesses. In partnership with the municipality of Krumovgrad, we have established a fund to help start-ups or to sustain the growth of small businesses, with a commitment of providing $5 million of financial resources through to the end of Ada Tepe’s mine life.

History

The area was originally explored in the early to mid 1990's on behalf of the Bulgarian Government. The entire license area was covered by the regional soil sampling program, in addition to magnetic and induced polarization surveys across the prospect. The results of this work showed the presence of a gold soil geochemical anomaly of significant intensity and extent over the prospect, and a variety of geophysical anomalies.

Balkan Mineral & Mining AD ("BMM"), was awarded the Krumovgrad License area covering 130 km2 in 2000, based on which it then entered into an Agreement of Prospecting and Exploration with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Bulgaria on June 12, 2000. BMM was acquired by DPM in 2003, and later renamed Dundee Precious Metals Krumovgrad EAD.