TSX: IMG NYSE: IAG
TORONTO,
March 6, 2014 /CNW/ - IAMGOLD
Corporation ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") announced today that
it has finalized a five-year option agreement with Sarafina N.V.
(the "Agreement") under which IAMGOLD's subsidiary, Rosebel Gold
Mine ("RGM") may earn a 100% interest in Sarafina's 10,000 hectare
mining concession, located 25 kilometres from the Rosebel Gold Mine
in Suriname.
The Company may exercise its right to purchase the property at
any time for a cash purchase price of US$1
million. To maintain this purchase option, RGM is required
to make scheduled option payments totaling US$575,000 over five years. IAMGOLD may elect to
terminate the Agreement at any time. Should the project proceed to
production, Sarafina N.V. shall be paid a NSR royalty of 1.6% for
any gold produced from this property.
IAMGOLD's President and CEO, Steve
Letwin, said, "Rosebel has been a great mine for
IAMGOLD. In its first 10 years, Rosebel produced more
gold than defined in its original mineral reserve. Its
future reserves are becoming more challenging and expensive to
process due to an increasing proportion of hard rock.
The Sarafina property has the potential to yield new discoveries of
higher grade, softer rock that could be mined with a lower
stripping ratio than our current operations. The new
Agreement opens the opportunity to reinvent Rosebel, lengthen its
reserve life, lower its unit operating costs and improve its
contribution to the Government of Suriname, the local community and
our investors."
The property lies within the Unincorporated Joint Venture
("UJV") area that was negotiated with the Government of Suriname in
2013, with the UJV owned 70% by RGM and 30% by the Government. In
the UJV, RGM is eligible to benefit from the low power rate of
$0.11/kWh for any material processed
originating from the Sarafina property. IAMGOLD intends
to make exploration of this property a priority, with the aim of
discovering additional softer ore to feed to the Rosebel mill in
the coming years.
The Sarafina property lies within a northwest trending belt of
sheared mafic volcanics immediately along strike of the previously
discovered Saramacca gold deposit. The project has been the
site of previous exploration and ongoing small scale mining and is
believed to have exploration potential for the discovery of gold
mineralization. IAMGOLD will complete a compilation of all historic
exploration data to identify priority targets for follow up and
will have its exploration team active on the site immediately.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
All information included in this news release, including any
information as to the Company's future financial or operating
performance, and other statements that express management's
expectations or estimates of future performance, other than
statements of historical fact, constitute forward looking
information or forward-looking statements and are based on
expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this news
release. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the
Company's guidance for production, exploration, rock hardness,
grade, strip ratios, the future price of gold, the estimation of
mineral reserves and mineral resources, the realization of mineral
reserve and mineral resource estimates, the timing and amount of
estimated future production, costs of production, permitting
timelines, requirements for additional capital, government
regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated
reclamation expenses and title disputes or claims. Forward-looking
statements are provided for the purpose of providing information
about management's current expectations and plans relating to the
future. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by,
but are not limited to the, use of the words "may", "will",
"should", "could", "intends", "potential", "continue", "expect" or
"anticipate" or the negative of these words or other variations on
these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements
are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions
that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently
subject to significant business, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies. The Company cautions the reader
not to place any reliance whatsoever on forward-looking information
or forward-looking statements. Forward- looking information and
forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual financial results, performance or
achievements of IAMGOLD to be materially different from the
Company's estimated future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements, and the
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. Risks and unknowns inherent in all projects include
the inaccuracy of estimated reserves and resources, metallurgical
recoveries, capital and operating costs of such projects, and the
future prices for the relevant minerals. The capital expenditures
and time required to develop new mines or other projects are
considerable, and changes in costs or construction schedules can
affect project economics. Actual costs and economic returns may
differ materially from IAMGOLD's estimates or IAMGOLD could fail to
obtain the governmental approvals necessary for the operation of a
project; in either case, the project may not proceed, either on its
original timing or at all.
The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise except as required by
applicable law.
Qualified Person:
The technical information in this news release was prepared
under the supervision of Craig
MacDougall , P.Geo., Senior Vice President, Exploration for
IAMGOLD. Mr. MacDougall is a Qualified Person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101.
About IAMGOLD
IAMGOLD (www.iamgold.com) is a mid-tier mining company with five
operating gold mines (including current joint ventures) on three
continents and one of the world's top three niobium mines. A solid
base of strategic assets in Canada, South
America and Africa is
complemented by development and exploration projects and continued
assessment of accretive acquisition opportunities. IAMGOLD is
in a strong financial position with extensive management and
operational expertise.
Please note:
This entire news release may be accessed via fax, e-mail, IAMGOLD's
website at www.iamgold.com and through CNW Group's website at
www.newswire.ca. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found
at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov.
Si vous désirez obtenir la version française de ce communiqué,
veuillez consulter le
http://www.iamgold.com/French/Home/default.aspx.
SOURCE IAMGOLD Corporation