IAMGOLD Announces $18 Million Cost Improvement Program at Rosebel
February 06 2008 - 9:00AM
Marketwired
TORONTO, ONTARIO (TSX: IMG)(NYSE: IAG)(BOTSWANA: IAMGOLD)
announces the Board of Directors' approval of an $18.4 million
investment for an expansion of the Rosebel Mill. The expansion
allows for an increase in the annual life of mine production from
approximately 275,000 ounces per year to 300,000 to 305,000 ounces
per year and a reduction in direct cash costs of approximately $35
per ounce. This increases the mill throughput from 8 million tonnes
per year of ore to 8.9 million tonnes per year while adding
sufficient operational flexibility to increase throughput by a
further 15% to 25% should mine site and economic conditions support
the use of the excess capacity.
The mill expansion eliminates the need for stockpiles, and
through the installation of extra leach tanks to increase residence
time, will boost metallurgical recovery from 94% to 95%.
"This program will continue to improve production from Rosebel
and bring down cash costs at the operation, resulting in a
reduction of our overall cash costs," stated Joseph Conway,
President & CEO. "Rosebel is our largest and most significant
operation and there is considerable value yet to be realized there.
We continue to evaluate and initiate programs to expand the
margins, convert existing resources and discover more ounces."
The $26 million Rosebel Mill optimization, announced in July
2007, will be completed in November of this year. This optimization
enables production rates to be maintained as more hard rock is fed
into the mill. In 2008, $15 million remains to be spent on the
optimization. The $18.4 million investment is planned for 2008,
with results having an impact on production and costs beginning in
2009.
Concurrent with mill expansion is the redesign of the existing
mine plan which eliminates marginal ore and reduces the life of
mine strip ratio from 4 to 3.5 while maintaining the mine reserve
grade at 1.2 grams/tonne. The impact of the lower strip ratio and
the reduction of marginal material in the mine plan will reduce the
current mine life by one year but the significant increase in
profitability offsets the potential loss of production.
The Company is also spending $9.8 million in exploration and
development which includes 26,000 meters of infill drilling for
reserves development and resource conversion and 35,000 meters to
delineate additional resources on known targets. The focus of this
program is to increase overall mine grade and grow resources.
Further mine engineering work is also ongoing for an expansion
in mine production capacity through an increase in the size of the
mining fleet.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC")
permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to
disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can
economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms
in this press release, such as "mineral resources" , that the SEC
guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filings with
the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the
disclosure in the IAMGOLD Annual Report on Form 40-F. A copy of the
2006 Form 40-F is available to shareholders, free of charge, upon
written request addressed to the Investor Relations Department.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains certain "forward-looking
statements". All statements, other than statements of historical
fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements
regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration
results and future plans and objectives of IAMGOLD or statements as
to our future financial or operating performance and other
statements that express management's expectations or estimates of
future performance, constitute forward-looking statements. The
words "expect", "plan", "will", "intend", "estimate" and similar
expressions identify forward-looking statements. 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 that such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown 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. These risks, uncertainties
and other factors include, but are not limited to: changes in the
worldwide price of gold and currencies; changes in U.S. dollar
interest rates or gold lease rates; risks arising from holding
derivative instruments; ability to successfully complete announced
transactions and integrate acquired assets; legislative, political
or economic developments in the jurisdictions in which the Company
carries on business; operating or technical difficulties in
connection with mining or development activities; employee
relations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining
inputs and labor; the speculative nature of exploration and
development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or
grades of reserves; adverse changes in our credit rating, contests
over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped
properties; and the risks involved in the exploration, development
and mining business. These factors are discussed in greater detail
in the Company's most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on
file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian
provincial securities regulatory authorities.
Please note:
This entire press release may be accessed via fax, e-mail,
IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com and through Marketwire's
website at www.marketwire.com. All material information on IAMGOLD
can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov.
Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique,
veuillez consulter le http://www.iamgold.com/fr/accueil.html.
Contacts: IAMGOLD Corporation Lisa Doddridge Director, Investor
Relations (416) 360-4710 or Toll Free: 1-888-IMG-9999 Website:
www.iamgold.com Renmark Financial Communications Inc. John Boidman
(514) 939-3989 Email: jboidman@renmarkfinancial.com Renmark
Financial Communications Inc. Henri Perron (514) 939-3989 (514)
939-3717 (FAX) Email: hperron@renmarkfinancial.com Website:
www.renmarkfinancial.com
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