New gold mine in northern Ontario could become biggest in Canada
IAMGOLD’s Cote Gold open pit mine, located off Highway 144 between Timmins and Sudbury, had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week as production ramps up.
Bryan Wilson (left), Cote Mine’s General Manger, hosted company officials, its partners from Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining and from local Indigenous Communities for an onsite celebration. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Cote primarily produces gold, with silver as a by-product.
“Our production is growing, we're still not at nameplate capacity yet,” said Bryan Wilson, general manager of Cote Gold.
“We're still going through teething problems in the process plant, but it's getting to where we need to be.”
The mine poured its first gold bar at the end of March, but Wilson wouldn’t reveal hard figures during the ribbon-cutting ceremony the company hosted Wednesday, but he said the pit will need to produce around 170,000 tonnes a day of low-grade ore.
Cote Gold is situated in the territory belonging to Mattagami and Flying Post First Nations and community leaders said they have a really good working relationship with IAMGOLD.
“We're going to be connecting with each other on a regular basis to see what's happening, to update about all of the things that we need to communicate about,” said Jennifer Constant, Chief of Mattagami First Nation.
Cote Gold employs between 700 and 800 people and northern mayors are excited about its future.
“Timmins and Sudbury get to share a lot of that, all those jobs … all the spinoffs for … for our economy,” said Paul Lefebvre, mayor of Greater Sudbury.
“It's huge … this project that will possibly even be the largest gold mine in Canada.”
Uses autonomous trucks
Officials said one of the mine’s more interesting features is the use of autonomous trucks. Wilson said Cote Gold is the first mine in Ontario to use them.
“Since we've started those trucks, we've not dumped one truck with a person in the truck,” said Wilson.
“So they, they drive around the mine site, they know where to go.”
“From an environmental point of view, it's world-class,” said George Pirie, Ontario’s Minister of Mines.
Pirie said Cote Gold is a big reason why he ran for provincial politics since it took more than five decades to develop.
“That’s unacceptable,” said Pirie.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Investment from Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Company helped launch this joint venture project and recently, IAMGOLD announced it will repurchase more shares, bringing it to a 70-30 split.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bank of Canada cuts interest rate, signals more to come if inflation keeps dropping
The Bank of Canada has decreased its policy interest rate for the second consecutive time and signalled more cuts are coming if inflation continues to ease.
Wildfire north of Calgary prompts evacuation alert, highway closures
A wildfire is prompting evacuations and highway closures north of Calgary.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Russian man is among those arrested in plots targeting Paris Olympics
French authorities have foiled several plots to disrupt the 2024 Olympics, including arresting a Russian man in one of them, officials said Wednesday, just days before the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in Paris.
EXCLUSIVE Canadian company at the centre of alleged international pyramid scheme: authorities
Foreign governments say hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka lost savings to a company headquartered in Canada. This investigation from the IJF and CTV News shines a new light on how Canadian shell companies and registries were used to pull off the scheme.
Wildfire evacuees ordered to leave Jasper find relief after long journey to safety
Some wildfire evacuees who were trapped in traffic for hours while leaving Jasper National Park say they are feeling relieved to have found safety.
Pennsylvania state police commissioner reveals stunning details about Trump shooting
A local law enforcement commissioner revealed during a House Homeland Security hearing on Tuesday stunning new details about the security failures that led to the near assassination of Donald Trump, raising more questions for the embattled U.S. Secret Service.
Host city revealed for 2034 Winter Olympic Games
Salt Lake City was awarded the 2034 Winter Olympic Games on Wednesday following a vote of the International Olympic Committee.
Plane crashes just after takeoff from Nepal's capital, killing 18 people. Pilot is lone survivor
A plane crashed Wednesday just after taking off from Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot who was the lone survivor.