SaracenMineral Holdings Ltd. said May 10 that commercial production wasdeclared at the Thunderboxgold project in Western Australia, effective April 1, after a capitalinvestment of A$63.4 million.

This was achieved two months after the project its first gold inFebruary, ahead of schedule and below budget.

The processing plant is operating at nameplate capacity of2.5 million tonnes per annum. The mine produced 7,026 ounces of gold at all-insustaining cost of A$1,107 per ounce in April.

Saracen said that group production is ramping up to around300,000 ounces per year at all-in sustaining cost of less than A$1,075 perounce.

In addition, the company has fully paid the considerationfor acquiringThunderbox, which totaled A$31.6 million, including the of the 1.5% royalty and thefinal payment of A$3.0 million.

Lastly, exploration drilling is underway at , located 65kilometers south of Thunderbox, with initial results expected in the Septemberquarter.