Annual production also reached a record of 98,872 oz AuEq, or 95,109 oz gold, 1,853,078 lb copper and 36,067 oz silver, representing year-over-year AuEq production growth of 20%.

The fourth quarter achieved record mill throughput, processing a total of 68,932 tonnes. This record was achieved despite five days of downtime for mill reline maintenance and a further five days treating a lower grade bulk sample from Judd Vein development.

The ramp-up of the mill following the commissioning of the stage 2 expansion has progressed well, sequentially improving through the quarter, with metallurgical performance also improving (recoveries of 91.70% for gold and 90.60% for copper).

Further improvements are expected through 2021 from additional optimization to the flotation circuit, re-commissioning of the drum scrubber and introduction of the gravity circuit, the company said.

Mining operations also achieved record material movements and development in the fourth quarter, with 207,600 tonnes of total material movements (mill feed and waste) and 1.9 km of development mined.

Importantly, the underground mine achieved the beginning of year target of reaching 1,100 tpd (mill feed) by year-end, despite the challenges presented by the covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, during the quarter, stockpiles increased by about 3,000 tonnes to 21,000 tonnes at 11.8 g/t AuEq at year-end.