The open pit gold mine is Aura's first greenfield project and is wholly owned by the company. The start process at Almas will also include a ramp-up phase.

 "We have hit a major milestone in our company history today with the start of production of our first ever greenfield project completed in only 16 months and expected Capex of approximately US$78 million, with no material deviation from the project budget, despite challenges related to procurement, the pandemic and inflationary pressures," said Rodrigo Barbosa, president, and chief executive.  

As noted in the statement, Aura has invested in 50,000 hours of training and has a workforce that is 57% local.

"We look forward to providing additional updates as we achieve commercial production and begin sales at Almas and completing the ongoing Borborema feasibility study with construction anticipated to commence by the end of this semester," Barbosa said.

Located in Tocantins, Brazil, the Almas project is expected to produce 51,000 ounces of gold during the first four years of the operation. The project has an estimated life-of-mine of 17 years.

Outside Brazil, Aura has gold, copper and base metals projects and operations in Mexico, Honduras and Colombia.