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Home > News > IAMGOLD says development at...

IAMGOLD says development at Côté Gold 57% complete

Aug 4, 2022


IAMGOLD Corporation  announced its updated estimate of costs to complete, project economics and life-of-mine ("LOM") plan for the Côté Gold project ("Côté Gold" or the "Project") south of Timmins. A NI 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR on or before September 17, 2022. The project update concludes the Côté Gold costs, schedule, execution strategy and risk review ("project review and risk analysis") initiated by the Company earlier this year. All dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars, unless otherwise indicated. 

Highlights of the Côté Gold 2022 Technical Report:

  • After-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate ("NPV5%") of $1,109 million on a 100% basis, and an internal rate of return ("IRR") of 13.5% - at a gold price assumption of $1,700 in 2024 and 2025 and $1,600 thereafter and CAD:USD exchange rate of 1.25 (from May 1, 2022);

  • Estimated remaining project costs to complete construction and bring Côté Gold into production of $1,908 million ($1,335 million attributable to IAMGOLD) including escalation and contingency as of May 1, 2022; 

  • Mine life of 18 years with initial production expected in early 2024;

  • Average annual production of 495,000 ounces (320,500 ounces attributable) during the first six years following commercial production, and 365,000 ounces (236,000 ounces attributable) over the LOM;

  • LOM average cash costs of $693 per ounce gold ("/oz Au") sold and all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") of $854/oz Au sold;

  • Cumulative net operating cash flow of $6,086 million and after-tax free cash flow of $2,597 million; 

  • Côté Gold LOM plan based on Mineral Reserves of 7.2 million ounces in the Côté deposit;

  • Côté deposit Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource estimate (inclusive of Mineral Reserves) of 10.2 million ounces; Gosselin deposit Measured & Indicated Resource estimate of 3.4 million ounces; and

  • District scale potential with demonstrated exploration upside in one of the world's leading mining jurisdictions. 

Maryse Bélanger, Chair of the Board and Interim President and CEO, said: "The completion of the Côté Gold project review, risk analysis and updated mine plan is the culmination of months of in-depth analysis of the project, based on first principles, by the Company's management and project teams, EPCM contractor and technical experts. The project today is over 57% complete and the updated project costs and schedule give us greatly improved visibility towards completion. Côté Gold is a project that is being advanced in an environment with significant headwinds, including COVID-19, inflation and other global events - and their impacts on global supply chains, labour availability, and the associated costs of doing business. We are very proud of our teams as they navigate these challenges to continue to advance the project for the benefit of our partners, stakeholders and our business.

"Côté Gold is transformational for IAMGOLD. Once in production, the Project is projected to offer robust free cash flow generation, averaging 365,000 ounces per year at AISC of $854 per ounce for 18 years, based on the 7.2 million ounces currently estimated in Mineral Reserves. There is also tremendous potential for future expansion, starting with the Gosselin deposit, located immediately adjacent to the Côté pit containing 3.4 million ounces in Indicated Mineral Resource and an additional 1.7 million ounces in Inferred Resources. Gosselin has only been drilled to half the depth of Côté and remains open along strike. We believe that Côté Gold is not just a project, but the start of a district, with minimal historical exploration targeting Côté/Gosselin style intrusion-hosted deposits within our 596 km2 land package.

"Given the importance of Côté Gold to achieve our goal of becoming a leading high-margin gold producer, we are actively pursuing various alternatives to increase liquidity to complete construction and deliver Côté on the updated schedule. We expect to address these near-term challenges to advance Côté and better position IAMGOLD as a more resilient, agile company for the current environment."



Tags: Northern Ontario / Operational Updates / Gold / All Articles