As of March 31, the company said, a total of 1,193m had been achieved - 531m and 632m, respectively, in the Kuri and K'isa declines.

In addition to the development milestone, Lundin officials said the 1,000-person construction camp has been completed and the foundation bases for the process plant SAG and ball mill have been poured. Process plant excavation is 65% wrapped, and the first major pond for site water management is also ready.

It is making progress with major earthworks at Fruta del Norte, improving site logistics with the completion of River road that has reduced travel time from camp to site from 45 minutes to 10-15 minutes. Later this quarter, contractor crews will be mobilised to begin powerline work. Additionally, concrete work on the CIL plant area will commence soon once the mill foundations are complete.

Earlier this month, Lundin awarded the underground drill/bolt mining fleet to Epiroc Rock Drills. The project now has 84% of its production fleet contracts placed, with the only outstanding items being explosives delivery, shotcrete equipment and mine support equipment.

"We continue to advance Fruta del Norte on budget and on schedule," president and CEO Ron Hochstein said. "Overall engineering is 26% complete and construction is 16% complete, and we are continuously looking for efficiencies as we move the project forward."

Fruta del Norte, according to Lundin, is one of the highest-grade and largest gold projects currently under construction. The company first purchased the mine from Kinross Gold in 2014.