Çakmaktepe's maiden reserve is 176,000oz, grading 2.16g/t gold and 14.2g/t silver.

"Our target has always been to bring Çakmaktepe online in 2018 and with mining planned to commence in Çakmaktepe next year, we will meet this objective," president and CEO Rod Antal said.

Çakmaktepe's measured and indicated resource increased 70% to 239,000oz and the inferred resource of 50,000oz has increased 110% since December 2016.

The company will use the existing oxide infrastructure to treat Çakmaktepe ore at Çöpler, which had about four million tonnes of spare capacity in the heap leach facility.

It is also continuing in-pit exploration at Çöpler and further exploration at Çakmaktepe, including Çakmaktepe Far North, where latest results include 24.7m at 4.53g/t gold within 84.9m grading 1.79g/t from 13.2m.

The Çakmaktepe deposit comprises the North, Central, East, Southeast and Bayramdere deposits, which are on tenements 50%-80% owned by Alacer.

A mine access road linking Çakmaktepe to Çöpler is under construction and Alacer said pending approval of revised environmental and operating permits, it planned to start mining the portions of the Çakmaktepe deposits not covered by pasture permits in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Its Çöpler mine was forecast to produce 160,000 to 180,000 ounces of gold this year at total cash costs of US$500 to $550 per ounce.

Çöpler's sulphide project, which is being designed to provide a longer-term future for the operation, is said to be on schedule for first gold production in the third quarter of 2018.

Alacer started the quarter with $132 million cash and $130 million debt.

Shares in the company closed up 3.48% in Toronto and were up 1.9% in Australian trade this afternoon, in the lower third of its 52-week range.