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Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) said Tuesday it poured the first doré bar at its Côté gold mine in Ontario, which is expected to be one of the largest operating gold mines in Canada with an expected mine life of more than 18 years and significant opportunities for growth.
On a project level, combining the Côté and Gosselin deposits, Côté has a total estimated measured and indicated mineral resource of 16.5M oz with an additional 4.2M oz of inferred resource, the company said.
With first gold achieved, Iamgold (IAG) said the next step will be to ramp up the operation to commercial production in Q3 towards the goal of exiting the year at a 90% throughput rate.
The miner is targeting year-end production of 220K-290K oz on a 100% basis if commissioning continues as planned; so far, the crushing, high-pressure grinding rolls and processing circuits are performing as expected.
During the first six years of operation, Iamgold (IAG) forecasts Côté’s gold production at 495K, while averaging 365K oz/year over the life of the mine.
Côté also is the first gold mining project in North America designed and built for a fully automated haulage fleet.
The mine is 60% owned 60% and operated by Iamgold (IAG) and 40% owned by Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining (OTCPK:SMMYY).