The major milestone was effective June 8th, when the project exceeded 60% of its design throughput capacity in a 30-consecutive-day period. First concentrate production was recorded on March 14th of this year.
During that period, DPM said the plant proved it could achieve near 100% of its throughput capacity. In June alone, it was able to ramp up its recoveries beyond the commercial threshold.
With ramp-up efforts now in process, the miner said the newly monikered Ada Tepe should reach full design capacity in the September quarter.
"Commercial production…marks the beginning of a new chapter for DPM, delivering significant growth in gold production and free cash flow," president and CEO Rick Howes said, adding that its crews met its goals safely and under budget.
The gold in Ada Tepe's concentrate has been projected to total between 55,000oz and 75,000oz this year. It has targeted production of an average of 100,000oz/y for the first five years of production. The life-of-mine average is about 85,000oz.
In addition to Ada Tepe, DPM's operating assets include the Chelopech operation east of Sofia, Bulgaria, and the Tsumeb smelter, a complex copper concentrate processing facility located in Namibia. It holds developing properties in Canada and Serbia as well as a 10.3% interest in Sabina Gold and Silver.
