TORONTO (miningeekly.com) – TSX- and ASX-listed miner Alacer Gold on Thursday reported record yearly attributable gold production from its 80%-owned flagship Turkish Çöpler mine, lifting output to 216 850 oz – a 44% increase over 2012.

The Toronto-based company said the higher production was driven by a 16% higher average oxide ore grade of 1.91 g/t gold and improving gold recovery rates.

Full-year 2013 all-inclusive costs totalled about $865/oz, and Alacer had about $290-million cash in the bank and no debt at the end of the year.

During 2013, Alacer sold its Australian business unit, which included the Higginsville and South Kalgoorlie operations, to Metals X for A$40-million in cash. The company had also announced its Çöpler oxide production profile through 2017, and made important changes to the senior management team and board.

The company had previously noted that the ongoing transformation set Alacer up to leverage its strong balance sheet by focusing on its asset base in Turkey to produce at low all-in costs.

“With a cash position of about $290-million and growing, Alacer has all the right ingredients to continue building on its success in Turkey. Alacer's definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Çöpler sulphides is progressing as planned with completion expected in the second quarter,” Alacer CEO Rod Antal said.

Alacer said that it expected higher gold output in the second half of the year, as an increasing amount of ore was mined from the main pit. Çöpler's strong performance was planned to continue through 2014 with gold output above 200 000 oz. Moreover, those ounces would be produced at or near the lowest cost in the gold mining industry, resulting in strong free cash flow for Alacer.

Çöpler's 2014 sustaining capital expenditure was planned to total $14-million (attributable), including the final phase of the heap leach pad expansion, completion of the clay handling circuit, and other improvements to the processing plant.

The mine’s attributable growth capital expenditure for the year was planned to total $2.6-million and was earmarked entirely for the sulphide DFS and related work.

Planned expenditure on Alacer's portfolio of 14 exploration projects in Turkey totalled $21-million during 2014, of which $9-million was attributable to Alacer. The company’s exploration portfolio in Turkey is held in various joint ventures with Turkish partner Lidya Madencilik.