Superior Gold Inc. started pre-stripping activities Oct. 12 at its developing Hermes gold project in Western Australia.

The company said Oct. 17 that it expects initial production by the end of the year and commercial production at the project in the first quarter of 2018.

The Hermes deposit will be mined as a conventional open pit operation, and mined material will be transported to the Plutonic gold mine for processing.

President and CEO Chris Bradbrook said contributions from Hermes are anticipated to increase the company's annual production to 100,000 ounces of gold.