Nov 18 (Reuters) - Canada's AuRico Gold said it started pre-production development at one of its mines in Ontario and expects to start production by the end of next March.

The company, which has mining interests in Canada, Mexico and Australia, expects to stockpile about 500,000-750,000 tonnes of ore ahead of the commissioning of the mill at its Young-Davidson project in northern Ontario.

Pre-production work at the open pit is expected to average 25,000 tonnes per day of ore, AuRico said in a statement.

The company is looking to speed up development of the underground mine to start production earlier than its target of first quarter 2014.

The Young-Davidson mine project, which is wholly owned by AuRico, has proven and probable gold reserves of 2.7 million ounces.

Shares of the Toronto-based company closed at C$10.15 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Arnav Das Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)