IAMGOLD secures $400M loan as it completes Côté Gold
IAMGOLD has secured a five-year, $400 million loan from three lenders as it completes the construction, commissioning and ramp up of the Côté Gold project.
Located about an hour south of Timmins, construction of Côté Gold began in 2020 and was expected to take three years and cost the company around $900 million.
However, rising costs and other challenges 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.
That ensured IAMGOLD had the money it needed to complete the project, but left little room to manoeuvre should unforeseen events take place.
Renaud Adams, president and CEO of IAMGOLD, said in a news release that since raising the funds needed to complete Côté, “the company has continued to work on improving its balance sheet and liquidity.
“The announcement today is an important step for the company in its objectives of putting in place a more appropriate capital structure and position itself for an ultimate return to the 70 per cent ownership interest in Côté Gold in the future,” Adams said.
“Côté Gold remains on track for production in early 2024 and is a key pillar in our strategy to position IAMGOLD as a leading high-margin gold producer.”
o Download our app to get local alerts on your device
o Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The construction budget and schedule of Côté Gold remains on track, with the project approximately 80 per cent complete as of the end of March 2023.
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.