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
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.