TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based Minefinders Corporation has achieved commercial production at its flagship Dolores gold/silver mine, in Chihuahua, Mexico, the firm announced on Thursday.

Commercial production status was declared with effect from May 1.

In April, the mine produced 7 218 oz of gold, compared with 6 426 oz in March, and silver production increased to 139 565 oz, from 121 091 oz a month earlier.

Gold and silver production is expected to escalate to steady state levels later in the year as the volume of ore under leach and time under leach continues to increase, the company said.

"After more than 14 years of exploration and development, Dolores is now a long term, low cost gold and silver mine," said CEO Mark Bailey.

"We will focus on maximizing the potential at Dolores by optimising operational efficiencies while continuing to pursue growth opportunities for the company."

The Dolores mine started production in November 2008, and is expected to produce more than 1,7-million ounces of gold and 64-million ounces of silver over a more than 15-year life-of-mine.

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