Iamgold and Sumitomo have announced the commencement of commercial production at the Côté Gold Mine in Ontario, Canada.
The mine has achieved the required operating standard at 60% of its nameplate throughput capacity of 36,000 tonnes (t) per day for 30 consecutive days.
The Côté Gold Mine is owned by IAMGOLD through a joint venture (JV) with Sumitomo. Iamgold owns a 60% stake in the JV while Sumitomo Metal Mining owns 40%.
The ramp-up of the Côté Gold plant continues to progress, with all major equipment performing at or above expected design levels, Iamgold stated.
Following the initial gold pour, the focus shifted towards testing the processing circuits under full load conditions.
The primary components of the plant have responded well, consistently achieving or exceeding the nameplate throughput capacity. However, the availability of the dry-side processing facilities, particularly the crushing and screening circuits, has been limited.
A multi-day shutdown is planned in September 2024 to address the wear and tear issues that have affected the availability of the processing circuits.
The maintenance is part of the JV’s strategy to ensure that plant throughput increases to 90% by the end of this year.
Iamgold president and CEO Renaud Adams said: “Since achieving the first pour of gold on 31 March 2024, our teams have spent the last four months methodically and iteratively testing and ramping up all facets of the mine. This process has required remarkable commitment, ingenuity and teamwork to bring all the systems online together to achieve this milestone.
"With commercial production behind us we continue to focus on improving plant availability towards our goal of Côté exiting the year at 90% of nameplate throughput.”
In May 2024, Iamgold announced a deal to divest 72 million common shares at $4.17 each, aiming to raise around $300m (C$409.59m).
The move forms part of the company’s strategy to repurchase a 9.7% interest in the Côté Gold Mine from Sumitomo Metal Mining, aiming to regain its full 70% stake in the mine.
With an expected mine life of around 18 years, the mine is estimated to have gold production of 205t and reserves of 235 million tonnes at 1.01 grams per tonne.
