TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - Anatolia Minerals Development Limited ("Anatolia" or the "Company") (TSX:ANO) announces the appointment of Kemal Yildirim as Vice President Turkish Operations and Country Manager Turkey. Mr. Yildirim will have overall responsibility for the Company's business activities in Turkey, including all aspects of strategy and external relations in Turkey as well as developing the Company's Turkish organization for the operation of the Çöpler Gold Mine.
Mr. Yildirim has over 25 years of professional experience with leading mining companies in Turkey, Canada, the USA and the UK. He joins Anatolia from European Nickel PLC, where he was Country Manager Turkey and CEO of Sardes Nikel. Previously, Mr. Yildirim held a wide range of Technical and Management positions in Rio Tinto including General Manager - Global Business Development (Soda Ash), and Vice President, Engineering & Construction of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. At Diavik, he was responsible for the construction of the C$250 million water retention dike for open pit mining and over C$75 million of infrastructure works in the Canadian Arctic. Mr. Yildirim completed his undergraduate studies in Mining Engineering at Istanbul Technical University. He holds both an MSc and PhD degrees in Minerals Process Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Yildirim is expected to join Anatolia in June 2010.
Robert Benbow, Vice President and current Turkish Country Manager, remains with the Company and will assist Mr. Yildirim as he transitions into his duties. Concurrently, Mr. Benbow is assuming additional responsibilities for other upcoming projects.
Edward Dowling, President and CEO of Anatolia Minerals commented, "This appointment fulfills a long-term objective of the Company to have our Turkish subsidiaries increasingly led by Turkish citizens. I've known Kemal for many years. He is a globally respected mining professional and fits perfectly into our strategy of building a world class organization in Turkey."
About Anatolia
Anatolia, recognized as a leader in exploration and development in Turkey, is developing Çöpler. Çöpler is 95% owned by Anatolia and 5% by Çalik Mining (see News Release, August 13, 2009). Initial plans are to produce approximately 1.3 million ounces of gold at a cash cost of about US$260 per ounce. The first gold pour at Çöpler is expected in 2010 with full production to average about 175,000 ounces of gold per year after ramp up. Additional production expansion of the oxide and sulfide gold resource is expected at Çöpler by taking advantage of the inherent large resource through on-going technical activities. In addition, Anatolia holds a significant pipeline of prospective gold and base metal projects.
Anatolia currently has 138.1 million common shares issued and outstanding, 157.3 million fully diluted. Anatolia's common shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ANO."
Cautionary Statements
Except for statements of historical fact relating to Anatolia, certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information, future oriented financial information, or financial outlooks (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to this news release and other matters identified in Anatolia's public filings, Anatolia's future outlook and anticipated events or results and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "projects", "predict", "potential", "targeted", "possible", "continue", "objective" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts and include, but are not limited in any manner to, those with respect to commodity prices, mineral resources, mineral reserves, realization of mineral reserves, existence or realization of mineral resource estimates, the timing and amount of future production, the timing of construction of the proposed mine and process facilities, capital and operating expenditures, the timing of receipt of permits, rights and authorizations, communications with local stakeholders and community relations, status of negotiations of joint ventures, availability of financing and any and all other timing, development, operational, financial, economic, legal, regulatory and political factors that may influence future events or conditions. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including, but not limited in any manner, those disclosed in any other of Anatolia's public filings, and include the ultimate determination of mineral reserves, availability and final receipt of required approvals, licenses and permits, ability to acquire necessary surface rights, sufficient working capital to develop and operate the proposed mine, access to adequate services and supplies, economic conditions, commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, access to capital and debt markets and associated cost of funds, availability of a qualified work force, lack of social opposition and legal challenges, and the ultimate ability to mine, process and sell mineral products on economically favorable terms. While Anatolia considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties disclosed in other Anatolia filings at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs, estimate and opinions on the date the statements are made and, other than as required by law, Anatolia does not intend, and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect, among other things, new information or future events.
For further information: please contact Edward Dowling, President and CEO, or Douglas Tobler, CFO at (303) 292-1299 or visit www.anatoliaminerals.com
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