G Mining declares commercial production at Tocantinzinho gold mine in Brazil

G Mining Ventures (TSX: GMIN; US-OTC: GMINF) is Brazil’s newest gold producer after declaring commercial production at its Tocantinzinho mine in Pará state on time and on budget in less than two years of construction.

The milestone was achieved following 30 consecutive days of operations, during which the mill operated at a minimum of 60% of nameplate throughput. In August, it ramped up to 76%, processing more than 300,000 tonnes at a recovery rate of 88%.

“This achievement is the culmination of 5.8 million person-hours focused on building, testing and ramping up production at Brazil’s newest major gold mine,” Louis-Pierre Gignac, G Mining CEO said in a release Tuesday.

Tocantinzinho’s producing status comes just two weeks after gold hit a record high of US$2,532 per oz. and during a year when prices of the yellow metal have been above US$2,000 an ounce. Since late March, prices have been higher than US$2,200 per ounce.

Last month, the Canadian miner received an operating licence for Tocantinzinho and sold its first gold produced to a refinery in Switzerland. First pour and hot commissioning were achieved earlier in the summer.

G Mining will now focus on ramping up mine operations through 2024, testing the processing circuits’ ability to handle nameplate loads while improving recovery to 90%. The company is targeting its nameplate throughput of 4.7 million tonnes per annum by early 2025.

Tocantinzinho is engineered to have a 10.5-year mine life with an average annual gold production rate of 174,700 oz., including 196,200 oz. for the first five full years.

Company shares were down 2.9% to $8.32 apiece on Tuesday afternoon, valuing the company at almost $1.8 billion. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of $1.67 to $10.83.