Indigenous mining complicates Brazil’s fight against illegal gold
The Munduruku territory, a reservation the size of Switzerland on the Tapajos river, a major Amazon tributary, has become a hot spot for illegal mining.
Iamgold (NYSE: IAG) (TSX: IMG) announced on Monday that it had exercised its right to repurchase a 9.7% interest in the Côté gold mine in northern Ontario from Sumitomo Metal Mining.
With the move, the Canadian miner has returned to its 70% stake in the project. The transaction was finalized on November 30.
In December 2022, Iamgold and Sumitomo amended their Côté Gold joint venture agreement, which resulted in Sumitomo acquiring a 9.7% interest.
As part of the agreement, Iamgold retained a right of repurchase, which it has now exercised, completing the repurchase of Sumitomo’s shares for $377 million. This amount includes a $23.7 million fee for the repurchase option, which had accrued during 2023.
Côté will be Canada’s third-largest gold operation once at full capacity. In the first six years of production, its expected annual gold output is set at 495,000 oz. Over the life of the mine, production will average 365,000 oz. per year.
Located 125 km southwest of Timmins, Ontario, Côté produced its first doré bar in April, then achieving commercial production in August.
Total gold production from Côté Gold this year is expected to be 220,000-290,000 oz.
“In the near term, Côté remains on track for exiting this year at 90% of nameplate throughput, positioning the project well to achieve full run rate next year,” Iamgold CEO Renaud Adams said in a news release.
In addition to Côté, Iamgold operates two other mines — Essakane in Burkina Faso and Westwood in Quebec, Canada.
Shares of Iamgold fell 0.7% to C$7.66 apiece on Monday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of C$4.2 billion ($3bn).
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