PRECIOUS METALS

SSR suspends Copler due to leak

SSR suspends operations at Turkish Copler gold mine following leak at leach pad

This article is 3 years old. Images might not display.

Turkey's Ministry of Environment provided verbal guidance on June 28 for SSR to expect to be required to need to implement improvement initiatives, which is to be followed by written notice in the coming days, SSR said.

"SSR Mining expects to implement these initiatives in a timely fashion and bring the Copler operation back to full capacity in the coming weeks once minister of environment officials are satisfied with the implementation," the company said.

The leak was of a leach solution containing about eight kilograms of diluted cyanide on June 21, SSR said.

National Bank of Canada analyst Mike Parkin said he understands that none of the initiatives are of a high-cost nature.

"Overall, we view this operational disruption as a modest negative, assuming the outage lasts a few weeks," he said.

NBC models Copler producing about 272,000 oz of gold on a 100% basis this year which accounts for 42% and 36% of the bank's 2022 consolidated gold and gold-equivalent production estimates for SSR, respectively.

"Based on our model, SSR will miss out on ~4,600oz of gold production per week that Copler is suspend in 3Q22," Parkin said.

SSR's share price was quoted as C$22.16 (US$17.18) on June 30, having fallen from C$24.48 week on week. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.71 billion.

Expert-led Insights reports and Analytics tools built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Risk, Projects, ESG, Leadership, and Investor Sentiment.

Expert-led Insights reports and Analytics tools built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Risk, Projects, ESG, Leadership, and Investor Sentiment.

editions

Investor Sentiment Insights 2026

Discover what investors have planned for mining in 2026 in our industry-leading survey

editions

World Risk Insights 2025 (feat. MineHutte ratings)

A detailed analysis of mining investment risks across 120 jurisdictions globally, assessed across six risk categories and an industrywide survey.

editions

ESG Index 2025: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Index provides an in-depth evaluation of the ESG performance of 60+ of the world’s largest mining companies. It assesses companies across 10 weighted indicators within 6 essential ESG pillars.

editions

Leadership Insights 2025

Leadership Insights reveals key trends in priority mining issues through interviews with 15+ top mining company executives and an industrywide survey.