Name of the Project
Côté gold project.

Location
Northern Ontario, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Côté is a 70:30 joint venture (JV) between Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM).

Project Description
It is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada with an 18-year mine life and a maximum mining rate of 69-million tonnes a year.

Life-of-mine (LoM) average gold production is estimated at 365 000 oz a year for an LoM average of 6.58-million ounces of recovered gold.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create more than 1 000 jobs during construction, 450 jobs during operations, C$5-billion in wages and more than C$10-billion in gross domestic product over its life span.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $1.1-billion and an internal rate of return of 13.5%, with a five year payback.

Capital Expenditure
$1.91-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The project broke ground in September 2020 and achieved initial production in March 2024.

Latest Developments
The Côté mine produced 199 000 oz during the first nine months of operations as the plant ramped up from initial production on March 31, 2024. 

In the fourth quarter 2024, Côté Gold produced 96 000 oz, including a monthly production of 37 000 oz in November and December.

The ramp-up has continued to have positive momentum towards the target of achieving steady-state nameplate throughput rate of 36 000 t/d in the fourth quarter of 2025.

In December, the plant operated at 87% over a two-week period, before an unscheduled shutdown, owing to a split in a conveyor belt associated with ramp-up wear and tear. 

Production from Côté Gold is expected to double in 2025.

Iamgold has said that beyond its focus on stabilising operations and achieving nameplate throughput in the fourth quarter, it will continue to pursue improvements in mining and processing activities, as well as investigate the potential options to bring into the mine plan the full resource base estimate of the Côté and Gosselin zones. Combined, these account for more than 16.5-million ounces of measured and indicated resources, and 4.2-million ounces of inferred resources.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Iamgold, email info@iamgold.com.
SMM, tel +81 3 3436 7705.