TORONTO - Avion Gold Corp. said Monday it has started production at its new underground mine at the Tabakoto gold deposit in Mali, West Africa.
The company, which focuses solely on assets in the African region, said it anticipates that average production will be about 470,000 tonnes of ore for the year. at an average grade of 4.34 grams per tonne gold.
"The commencement of production ore mining from the Tabakoto underground mine is a milestone for Avion," said chief operating officer Andrew Bradfield in a release.
"It is an important step in the company's goal of achieving 4,000 tonnes per day of process plant capacity in 2012."
Avion owns 80 per cent of the Tabakoto and Segala gold projects in Mali, as well a new exploration property in Burkina Faso.