Canada-based mining company G Mining Ventures has achieved the first gold pour from its fully-owned Tocantinzinho gold project located in Para State, Brazil.
The first pour at the Brazilian project yielded around 440 ounces of gold.
G Mining Ventures said that the Tocantinzinho gold project continues to be on time and budget. The commercial production and subsequent ramp-up to nameplate plant capacity of 4.7 million tonnes per annum is expected to be achieved in the second half of this year.
Once it attains full commercial production, the Brazilian gold project will become the country’s third-largest primary gold mine, said G Mining Ventures.
G Mining Ventures president and CEO Louis-Pierre Gignac said: “The team successfully constructed TZ on time and in line with the original budget while maintaining an outstanding safety record.
“This milestone is a testament to the strength of our self-perform approach and demonstrates our competitive advantage. I sincerely thank our employees and contractors for their remarkable efforts in achieving this milestone.
“I look forward to ramping up the operation to commercial production in the second half of 2024. We are excited about TZ’s future and its significant role in Brazil’s gold mining industry.”
Hot commissioning at the Tocantinzinho project started last month. Since then, around 77,000 thousand tonnes of ore have been processed through the Tocantinzinho process plant, with all circuits performing as anticipated.
By the end of last month, nearly 2.6 million tonnes of ore were stockpiled.
The construction of the Tocantinzinho gold project began in September 2022 after the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) in February 2022.
According to the DFS, the Brazilian gold project will have a 10.5-year mine life with an average annual gold production of 175,000 ounces. The initial capital cost of the project is $458m.
The DFS also projected an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $1bn and a post-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 34%.
Separately, G Mining Ventures said that its shareholders have approved the previously announced C$875m ($641.8m) plan of merger with gold explorer Reunion Gold.
