Lundin Gold Inc. produced 28,678 ounces of gold in 2019 from its Fruta del Norte gold project in Ecuador, including 3,411 ounces of gold dore and 25,267 ounces of concentrate.

The company updated the life-of-mine plan for Fruta del Norte and expects all-in sustaining costs to increase 6.5% over the previous estimate to US$621 per ounce, mainly due to an expected rise in royalties and production taxes and decline in by-product credits as a result of revised price assumptions for gold and silver.

Lundin said Jan. 9 that it produced first gold from the project within budget and on schedule in the fourth quarter of 2019, and shipped first concentrate and dore in the same quarter.

The project's construction was 99.2% complete at the end of 2019, with the completion of the remaining paste plant and the Zamora River bridge anticipated in the second and third quarters of 2020, respectively.