Iamgold acquires suriname property that could extend Rosebel mine life

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold producer Iamgold has acquired an interest in the Saramacca property, in Suriname, on which it plans to define a National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource within the next 24 months that could potentially prolong the Rosebel mine life.

The Toronto-based miner advised on Wednesday that the Saramacca property, also known as ‘Anomaly M’, is located about 30 km south-west of the Rosebel mill and immediately south-east of the Sarafina property optioned to Iamgold.  

"This agreement is a landmark achievement for the company. I believe the addition of this property to Rosebel's mineral inventory will go a long way to supporting our future mining operations in Suriname. Adding resources that extend the life of the existing infrastructure at our mines is one of the most cost-effective ways to achieve growth," stated Iamgold president and CEO Steve Letwin.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Iamgold will make an initial payment of $200 000, which will enable immediate access to the property for Rosebel's exploration team, as well as access to data from previous exploration activity at Saramacca to conduct a due diligence review of the property. 

Provided Rosebel is satisfied with the results of the due diligence, it will pay $10-million, as well as issue 3.13-million Iamgold common shares to be held in escrow, which will be released to the Suriname government in three almost equal tranches at 12-month intervals, following the ratification of the agreement by Rosebel. 

Adjustments to the purchase price will be calculated depending on the success of the drill programme carried out by the Rosebel team over the first 24 months, but will be capped at $10-million, the company stated.

According to Iamgold, the Saramacca property has been explored since the 1990s, mainly by Golden Star and later as a joint venture between Golden Star and Newmont. Much of that work focused on the discovery and delineation of Anomaly M, which was the subject of successive auger and diamond drilling programmes, with more than 50 diamond drill holes and over 200 auger holes completed in the anomaly area. 

Evaluation of this work suggested a conceptual exploration target potential of between 8-million and 40-million tonnes, grading between 1 g/t and 1.8 g/t gold for potentially 500 000 oz to 1.4-million contained ounces of gold. 

The Rosebel gold mine started commercial production in 2004 and has produced more than three-million ounces of gold in the mine’s first 11 years of production. A revised life-of-mine plan for Rosebel, completed in December 2015, demonstrated a mine life of about six years and average attributable gold production of 316 000 oz/y.

Iamgold expected attributable production from Rosebel in 2016 to range between 285 000 oz and 295 000 oz.