Highlights from the company's initial 50-drill hole programme included 104g/t gold oxide over 1m from 28.2m and 30.8g/t of gold oxide over 6m from 26.2m, within a wider 22.6m at 9.65g/t gold oxide from 24.5m.

Drilling also revealed a 4.4m section at 25.78 g/t gold oxide from 137.1m, within a wider 40.8m at 4.74 g/t gold oxide and sulphide from 120.7m.

Alacer's CEO Rod Antal said the Saddle target area was "shaping up to be another outstanding near-mine exploration project and an important component of our short-term strategy to identify additional oxide ore that we can convert quickly into production by leveraging our existing infrastructure.

"With Ardich already shaping up to be a major discovery, and now with The Saddle showing potential, albeit at an earlier exploration stage, our short-term strategy is rapidly becoming a reality," he said.

The Ardich project, located 6km north east of Çöpler, yielded positive drilling results in late August, including 10.03 g/t over 10.6m from 133.1m, within a wider 4.21g/t over 33.1m from 131.4m. Antal has described Ardich as the company's "highest priority development project"

Alacer has previously stated its intention to extend gold oxide production in the near term by fast-tracking development of targets close to Çöpler. Gold production from the mine has fallen from 271,063oz in 2013 to 170,865oz in 2018.

The Çöpler Saddle borders the western flank of the Çöpler Mine, where Alacer began processing gold oxide ore in 2010. Alacer has since added a gold sulphide plant, which achieved commercial production criteria in May.

Shares in Alacer have nearly tripled in value over the last 12 months, driven by strong operational performance and rising gold prices.

The company was trading at just above CAD$5.6 on Thursday, compared with CAD$2 late September 2018. Its market capitalisation now stands at over CAD$1.6 billion.