Seeing the 250,000 ounces per year project on schedule comes at an important time for Kinross shareholders as the company has recently lost volumes from its Kupol mine in Russia because of sanctions.
While Kinross is yet to update its 2022 production guidance, the Kupol mine had been expected to produce 350,000oz of gold equivalent this year, which accounted for 13% of the company's 2.65Moz AuEq.
It was announced on March 2 that Kinross would enter the mine into a suspension process. Operations at the company's Russian Udunsk development were also suspended.
La Coipa's expected life-of-mine production was increased at the end of 2021 by 45% to 1Moz AuEq and Kinross is studying ways to further expand the mine plan, including incorporating adjacent pits into the project.
The project's current life of mine is to 2026.
"Our team has safely delivered the project on schedule and under budget, despite the challenging operating environment caused by the global pandemic over the past two years," Kinross president and CEO J Paul Rollinson said.
"With La Coipa expected to reach full operating capacity by mid-year, we are on the cusp of further exciting milestones at the project," he said.
Kinross traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$7.21/share (US$5.62/share) on March 9. In the wake of the Kupol suspension, the stock had fallen to as low as $6.32/share.
Kinross had a market capitalisation of C$9.33 billion.
