Roxgold has produced the first gold from its Yaramoko project in Burkina Faso, totalling 1,020oz.
The company expects to ramp-up to commercial production at the Yaramoko mine in the third quarter of 2016.
Roxgold president and CEO John Dorward said: "We are extremely pleased to be a producing company, and are delighted to continue our track record of reaching milestones ahead of schedule.
"Pouring gold 13 months from breaking ground is an achievement that we can all be proud of and is a true testament of hard work, dedication and exemplary teamwork by the Roxgold team."
The company already completed processing performance tests and recovery assumptions that have confirmed the mine’s design capacity.
Roxgold developed four sublevels in the underground operation to the eastern end of the resource.
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By GlobalDataFurthermore, ore development is being undertaken on three levels to the western end of the first mining block and is expected to increase next month once Block 2 development on the western side deposit starts.
Stoping operations in Block 1 are set to begin in July.
The Yaramoko permit encompasses around 196km² in the province of Balé in south-western Burkina Faso and lies directly south of the Semafo property.
Roxgold is advancing a high-grade gold discovery at Yaramoko’s 55 Zone, which was fully permitted for construction in January 2015.
Results of a positive feasibility study for the property were released on 22 April 2014.