Gold doré bars totalling 445 ounces were poured on Friday.

It comes after the first ore went through the mill over the Christmas break.

OceanaGold president and CEO Mick Wilkes said the first pour was a milestone for the company, local communities and state.

“This achievement marks the first gold production from the Haile gold mine in 25 years, and nearly 190 years since gold was first produced there,” he said.

“The Haile gold mine is a world-class asset with leading margins, a growing resource, and significant expansion potential.”

Wilkes said the mine should be in commercial production by the second quarter.

“We are also advancing the Haile optimisation study which is expected to be complete by mid-2017,” he said.

Haile started commissioning in October, with commissioning now moving to the flotation and fine grinding circuits.

The company currently has roughly 675,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled on surface including 275,000 tonnes grading 2.3 grams per tonne of sulphide ore, 245,000t at 0.6gpt of oxide ore and 155,000t at 1.1gpt of transitional material.

Haile is expected to produce 150,000-170,000 ounces of gold this year at low all-in sustaining costs of $US500-550 an ounce.

OceanaGold acquired Haile in the mid-2015 takeover of Romarco Minerals in a $C856 million deal.

Shares in OceanaGold closed A2c lower at $4.04 in Australia on Friday and jumped by more than 4% in Toronto.