IAMGOLD now has funding in place to complete Côté Gold project
IAMGOLD announced this week it now has the funding in place to complete its Côté Gold project, located about an hour south of Timmins.
The company said it has completed the sale of its 95 per cent interest in Rosebel Gold Mines N.V. in Suriname to Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. for US$360 million (about $480 million Canadian), as well as the release of IAMGOLD's equipment lease liabilities amounting to approximately $41 million.
The remaining five per cent interest in Rosebel will continue to be held by the Government of Suriname.
"On behalf of the company, we would like to thank the Rosebel team for their hard work and commitment," said Maryse Bélanger, IAMGOLD’s interim president and CEO, in a statement.
"With the completion of the sale of Rosebel, IAMGOLD has achieved an important milestone in the company's strategy to create value for our stakeholders through disciplined portfolio management to fund the Côté Gold Project.”
“This transaction, in addition to the previously announced sale of IAMGOLD's West African gold assets and the financing agreement with Sumitomo, ensures the current remaining funding requirements for completion of construction at Côté have been met," Bélanger added.
Construction of Côté Gold began in 2020 and was expected to take three years and cost the company around $900 million. The lifespan of the mine is expected to be 16-18 years and produce 495,000 ounces of gold a year in its first six years.
Average production over the full 18 years is estimated at 365,000 ounces a year, starting in the fourth quarter of 2023.
However, rising costs and other challenges recently pushed back the opening to early 2024. IAMGOLD's share of the remaining costs to complete the project soared from $750 million to an estimated $1.3 billion.
That meant the company needed to raise about $1.1 billion to complete the work.
In December, IAMGOLD announced an agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining worth $340 million, giving the Japanese company a 10 per cent stake in Côté.
Also in December, IAMGOLD announced it was selling its Boto Gold project, located in western Africa, for $282 million.
Côté Gold is now more 70 per cent complete and is scheduled to come into production in early 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.