IAMGOLD's Cote Project near Timmins boasts some leading-edge technology and lengthy lifespan
IAMGOLD's Cote Project, about an hour south of Timmins, is moving along with its construction phase.
Roads are being built, water has been pumped, fish have been relocated and some open pit mining has already begun.
The company currently has between 700 and 800 employees working on creating a mine with the future in mind. Gord Stothart, the company's president and chief executive officer, said Cote mine will be the third in Canada to have onsite autonomous hauling and drilling.
“We’re going to be using driverless trucks and driverless drills on the site -- it’s mature technology," said Stothart.
Cote Gold's general manager said he's looking for people interested in working with computers and communication systems.
"To make sure these 23 autonomous trucks work correctly, we need a very good communication system around the pit, so for sure we’re going to need a specific team just to manage that because if we lose the communication system, the trucks will stop," said Sylvain Collard.
Collard said people interested in working in a processing mill will also be treated to using some of the most interesting equipment in the industry.
“It's called HPGR -- high pressure grinding rollers," he said. "So it’s going to be the biggest one in Canada ... At the same time we’re going to have two Vertimills, which are the biggest on the market.”
IAMGOLD acquired the property in 2012 and Stothart said it's signed partnership agreements with several First Nations, most recently the Métis Nation of Ontario.
He said hiring Indigenous people from the area will be a priority. When the mine is in full production in 2023, the Cote Mine will need 450 full-time workers.
“We’ve had a recent discovery off the side of it and are looking to add some additional ounces to the pot here in the next while," Collard said. "So my projection is this mine is going to go well beyond 18 years and I think is going to be an important contributor to the northern economy for a long time.”
Stothart said to have a discovery of this magnitude in this region -- the heart of the world's mining industry -- is really special to IAMGOLD.
He said an economic study done a couple of years ago found that the Cote Project expects to produce at least $10 billion for Ontario's economy and $5 billion in direct and indirect wages.
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.