Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining have agreed to form a joint venture to develop Iamgold’s Côté gold project approximately 200 kilometers (km) northwest of Sudbury, Ontario. Sumitomo will pay an aggregate of $195 million for a 30% undivided participating interest in Iamgold’s 92.5% ownership interest in the project.
Côté is one of Canada’s largest undeveloped gold deposits, with proven and probable reserves totaling 5.9 million ounces (oz) in 196 million metric tons (mt) grading 0.94 grams/mt of gold. Along with its announcement of the Sumitomo agreement, Iamgold reported positive results from a prefeasibility study (PFS) of the Côté project and said it will proceed with a feasibility study, which is planned for completion in the second half of 2018.
