All monetary amounts are expressed in U.S.
dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
TORONTO, Aug. 31, 2016 /CNW/ - IAMGOLD
Corporation ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") today reports that the
Company has signed an agreement with the Government of Suriname to
acquire an interest in the Saramacca property with the intent of
defining a 43-101 compliant mineral resource within the next 24
months. The Saramacca property, also known as Anomaly M,
is located in the Republic of Suriname approximately 30 kilometres
southwest of the Rosebel mill and immediately southeast 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," said Steve
Letwin, IAMGOLD President and CEO. "Adding resources
that extend the life of the existing infrastructure at our mines is
one of the most cost effective ways to achieve
growth. Further, given the significance of Rosebel's
mining in Suriname, this project should provide important support
to the economy of the country."
The terms of the acquisition include an initial payment of
$200,000, which would 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 3.125 million IAMGOLD common shares to be held in escrow,
which would be released to the Government of Suriname in three
approximately equal tranches in 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 program carried out by the Rosebel team over the first 24
months, but will be capped at $10
million.
The Saramacca property has been explored since the 1990's
principally 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 programs with over 50 diamond
drill holes and over 200 auger holes completed in the anomaly
area. Evaluation of this work suggests an exploration target
potential of between 8 and 40 million tonnes grading between 1.0
and 1.8 g/t Au for potentially 0.5 to 1.4 million contained ounces
of gold. The potential quantity and grade are conceptual in
nature and insufficient exploration work has been completed to
define a mineral resource. The property will require
significant future exploration to advance to a resource stage and
there can be no certainty that the exploration target will result
in a mineral resource being defined. The target ranges are
consistent with deposits currently being mined at IAMGOLD's
adjacent Rosebel operation.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON
FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
This news release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities,
events or developments that the Company believes, expects or
anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without
limitation, statements regarding expected, estimated or planned
gold production, cash costs, margin expansion, capital expenditures
and exploration expenditures and statements regarding the
estimation of mineral resources, exploration results, potential
mineralization, potential mineral resources and mineral reserves)
are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
generally identifiable by use of the words "will", "should",
"would", "estimate", "believe", "suggest", "plan" or "project" or
the negative of these words or other variations on these words or
comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the
Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual
results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in
the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause
actual results or events to differ materially from current
expectations include, among other things, without limitation,
failure to meet expected, estimated or planned gold production,
cash costs, margin expansion, capital expenditures and exploration
expenditures and failure to establish estimated mineral resources,
the possibility that future exploration results will not be
consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold
markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form
40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial
securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement
speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may
be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims
any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking
statement.
Qualified Person Information
The technical information relating to exploration activities
disclosed in this news release was prepared under the supervision
of, and reviewed and verified by, Craig
MacDougall, P.Geo., Senior Vice President, Exploration,
IAMGOLD. Mr. MacDougall is a Qualified Person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101.
About IAMGOLD
IAMGOLD (www.iamgold.com) is a mid-tier mining company with four
operating gold mines on three continents. A solid base of strategic
assets in North and South America
and West Africa is complemented by
development and exploration projects and continued assessment of
accretive acquisition opportunities. IAMGOLD is in a strong
financial position with extensive management and operational
expertise.
Please note:
This entire news release may be accessed via fax, e-mail,
IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com and through CNW Group's
website at www.newswire.ca. All material information on IAMGOLD can
be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov.
Si vous désirez obtenir la version française de ce communiqué,
veuillez consulter le
http://www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx.
SOURCE IAMGOLD Corporation