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Ero Copper (ERO.TO) said Thursday that its Tucuma mine in Brazil began commercial production on July 1.

During June the mine and mill reached sustained throughput levels exceeding 75% of design capacity following the completion of commissioning of the third filter press as well as modifications to the process plant. Ero said it expects plant throughput volumes to continue increasing for the remainder of the year, supporting copper production growth.

Tucuma produced 6,400 tonnes of copper during the second quarter, the company said.

"The achievement of commercial production at Tucuma reflects the resilience of our organization over the past several months," said Makko DeFilippo, Ero's president and CEO. "We have worked diligently to improve performance at Tucuma, completing necessary repairs and modifications to the process plant to achieve and maintain performance targets."

National Bank of Canada reiterated its outperform rating and $24.50 price target on Ero shares at following the news.

The bank said the outperform rating considers an improvement in the company's near-term free cash flow generation with the ramp-up of Tucuma, as well as incremental exploration potential and expansion opportunities.

Ero shares were last seen down $0.92 to $22.79 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.