The achievement was recorded June 25, after all equipment was installed and operational and first ore was sent through the circuit.

Up until that day, the Pan mine had been a run-of-mine (ROM) operation, hauling blasted ore from the pit to the leach pad.

"Blending rocky ore with more clay-rich ore ensures adequate permeability and stability of the leach pad," Fiore said. "Metallurgical testing has shown that primary crushing will increase both the overall gold recovery and the rate of gold recovery."

The mining rate at Pan is currently 14,000 short tons (12,700 tonnes) per day. The addition of the crushing circuit will push annual gold production by an additional 6,000 to 7,000 ounces.

CEO Tim Warman said the miner does not anticipate a lengthy commissioning process.

"With the circuit operating we should see higher gold production through increased gold recoveries as well as improved mining efficiency as we mine to stockpiles rather than having to blend rock and clay ore directly on the leach pad," he noted.

Pan is located in east-central Nevada in the Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend.