IAMGOLD (TSX: IMG) has bulked up the resource base at its Côté Gold project, folding the neighbouring Côté and Gosselin zones into a single block model and lifting its gold price assumption in the process.
The updated estimate, effective March 31, pegs measured and indicated resources at 20.3 million ounces of gold on a 100% basis, a roughly 12% jump from the December 31 statement. Inferred resources meanwhile expanded 61% to 3.5 million ounces. The update arrives ahead of an expansion technical report and revised mine plan due in the fourth quarter.
The new resource breaks down as follows:
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- Measured: 164.4 million tonnes at 0.89 g/t gold for 4.71 million contained ounces
- Indicated: 673.6 million tonnes at 0.72 g/t gold for 15.63 million contained ounces
- Inferred: 177.1 million tonnes at 0.61 g/t gold for 3.48 million contained ounces.
Part of the increase came from exploration, while the remainder came from improved economics. IAMGOLD raised its gold price assumption to $2,500 per ounce, up from the $2,100 previously used at Côté, while trimming the cut-off grade to 0.25 g/t from 0.30 g/t. The higher price was the main driver behind the increase.
The revision drew on assays from 64 additional holes received since the prior statement, with 39 holes totalling 20,624 metres at Côté and 25 holes totalling 14,110 metres at Gosselin, much of it aimed at Saddle and at converting inferred ounces.
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“This updated mineral resource estimate combines the Côté and Gosselin zones within a single geological framework, an important technical milestone as we move toward the expansion study and updated mine plan expected in the fourth quarter,” commented IAMGOLD CEO Renaud Adams.
IAMGOLD meanwhile is planning to drill 30,000 metres this year, with the program designed to infill known mineralization and test whether the envelope can be stretched further into 2027.
The consolidated model will underpin the year end technical report, which is expected to weigh a plant expansion and a larger mining scenario built around the combined resource.
Côté Gold is operated in a 70-30 joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.
IAMGOLD last traded at $24.94 on the TSX.
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