Eldorado Gold says it has achieved commercial production at its wholly-owned Lamaque mine in Quebec, Canada.

Lamaque produces ore from the Triangle deposit, which is then processed at the refurbished Sigma mill.

With an initial mine life of around seven years, Lamaque is planning to mine and process over 500,000 t of ore at an average grade of 7 g/t Au this year, with production expected to amount to 100,000-110,000 oz of gold (including pre-commercial production) at cash operating costs of $550-600/oz of gold sold. Output is then expected to increase to 125,000-135,000 oz of gold in 2020 and 2021.

In 2018, inferred resources at Lamaque were increased by over 50%, and further drilling is currently ongoing to increase both the reserves and resources, Eldorado said. With over 37,000 m of exploration drilling budgeted for 2019 and excess capacity at the Sigma mill, the company said it is well positioned and focused on optimising the potential of the Lamaque mine.

Eldorado’s Chief Operating Officer, Paul Skayman, said: “We are proud to announce the achievement of this important milestone just over 18 months after acquiring this asset. It is a testament to all of the hard work that has gone into the exploration, prefeasibility study, engineering and construction that we have safely delivered commercial production ahead of schedule.”

Lamaque consists of the newly-discovered Triangle gold deposit, only 2.5km south of the historical Lamaque and Sigma mines, which are also on the property and produced over 10 Moz of gold.