In its first year, the miner produced 83,466 gold-equivalent ounces, had revenues of US$41.5 million and an average realised gold price of $389 an ounce.

By comparison, it produced a record 2.79Moz AuEq in 2016, had revenues of $3.5 billion and an average realised gold price of $1,249/oz.

Oliver has been with the company for 23 years and said he had seen Kinross evolve into one of the leading gold mining companies in the world.

"We have exciting organic opportunities on the horizon and are in a strong financial position to capitalise on promising opportunities," he said on the company's microsite dedicated to celebrating the milestone.

Its shares were trading above C$20 10 years ago and slid close to $2 in 2015 during the mining industry downturn.

Over the past year, Kinross shares have ranged between $6.29-$4.44 and last traded at $4.70, capitalising it at $5.87 billion.

Meanwhile, the gold price has pushed back through the $1,300/oz mark since yesterday as uncertainty continues following the Italian elections.