Rio Alto Mining Ltd. said Wednesday that first-quarter pre-production at its La Arena gold oxide mine in Peru was 9,385 ounces of gold.

During the quarter the Vancouver-based company sold 6,909 ounces of gold at an average price per ounce of $1,554 and 1,021 ounces of silver at an average price of $40.95 per ounce.

Deliveries of gold under the company's gold prepayment facility amounted to 1,466 ounces in satisfaction of the July through September 2011 delivery requirements.

Current guidance for total gold production during 2011 is 50,000 to 60,000 ounces with 100,000 ounces of gold expected to be placed on the pad by Dec. 31.

Commercial production at a consistent rate of 24,000 metric tons of ore per day is expected in November.

Gold Silver Gold Gold