Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
2 Nov 2009resource reserve update▲ GoodMajor
The board of the company that owns the Sadiola mine in Mali approved a $9 million, 11-month feasibility study on the Sadiola Deeps project, after IAMGOLD led the update of the pre-feasibility study. That study projects 400,000-500,000 oz a year (100% basis) from 2013-2018, mine life to 2019, about 2.2M oz more than the current plan, on a $400M initial investment, with an 11% after-tax return at $800 gold and breakeven near $625. Its economics depend on Malian government agreement on grid power and new-project tax treatment. IAMGOLD also reached a tentative deal to buy the IFC's 6% stake in Sadiola for $12M, plus up to $0.5-1M a year for 2010-2012 depending on gold price, and $1M on approval to mine the deep sulphide deposit. AngloGold Ashanti and Mali have 45 days to take up their shares, and IAMGOLD expects completion before year end. This builds on the Sadiola/Yatela exploration program already underway.
IAMGOLD's Q3 exploration update raises 2009 exploration spending to $56M ($36M greenfields). Rosebel's 90,000 m program is 80% complete and the company says results give increasing confidence that reserves and resources will rise by year end. Siribaya drilling roughly tripled the continuously mineralised strike length from 300 m to 900 m and IAMGOLD believes it has met its first-year C$3.0M commitment. Sadiola/Yatela gets a further $2.2M budget on top of the $14.9M program. Negative results: Mamakreek's full assays were sub-economic, and Sarakreek drilling showed mineralisation is not continuous between the Awari and Sula zones. Kalana fieldwork has begun with drilling planned from January 2010, and 16,581 m of drilling at Essakane was for planned infrastructure. The filing is truncated.
27 July 2009drilling progress report● NeutralMajor
IAMGOLD's Q2 exploration update raises 2009 exploration spending to $54.2M (from $53.1M), $34M of it greenfields. Highlights: Rosebel's 90,000 m drilling is 48% done; Eagle Mountain has a first inferred resource of 587,800 oz at 1.15 g/t; a $14.9M accelerated program at Sadiola/Yatela runs to Q3 2010; and Boto and Siribaya drilling was completed or substantially complete, with Siribaya assays mostly pending. Negative: IAMGOLD has taken steps to end the Buckreef joint venture agreements alongside the sale of the Kitongo project and will record a $9.3M impairment in Q2 2009, which closes out the Buckreef advanced-exploration thread. The filing is truncated, so later sections are not visible.
IAMGOLD gave its quarterly exploration update, with US$53.1 million planned for 2009, of which $34 million is greenfields work, focused on the Guiana Shield, Andes and Brazil, West Africa and Quebec. Key points: Essakane construction is underway with production expected in the second half of 2010 and a $2.5 million exploration spend planned there; the Doyon mine is scheduled to close in Q2 2009 (possibly Q3); Westwood's exploration shaft sinking has started with 73,500 metres of drilling planned; Boto drilling has found 10-15 metre intersections above 1.0 g/t but continuity is not yet shown; and in December 2008 IAMGOLD agreed to earn 50% of Merrex's Siribaya project in Senegal/Mali by spending at least Cdn$3.0 million in the first year. The filing is truncated, so later sections are not visible.
IAMGOLD filed a new technical report on the Niobec mine in Quebec, dated February 2009 and written by outside firm Belzile Solutions as an independent review of resources and reserves as of December 31, 2008. It says the mine is held 100% by an IAMGOLD subsidiary, is the only ferroniobium (a steel additive) producer in North America, and supplies roughly 7-8% of world demand. Niobec was not in the earlier asset list. The filing is truncated, so the actual resource and reserve numbers are not visible.
IAMGOLD refiled a January 18, 2006 technical report on the Buckreef project in Tanzania, written by Gallery Gold executives to support the earlier proposed IAMGOLD-Gallery transaction. It is a historical document with resources as at November 1, 2005 (measured and indicated 8.65 million tonnes at 2.3 g/t, 632,000 oz; inferred 773,000 oz), not the July 2008 figures already on record (~1M oz M&I). It does not explain why it was refiled or update the status of the revised scoping study or pre-feasibility goal.
IAMGOLD filed an updated technical report on the Quimsacocha gold project in Ecuador, prepared by its own technical team and dated February 2009. The visible text lists July 2008 indicated and inferred resources at a 3.0 g/t cut-off and a probable reserve, which fits the July 2008 pre-feasibility study already on record, and it covers mining law and permitting. The filing is truncated, so no new reserve, cost or schedule figures can be confirmed, and the status of the Ecuador Mining Code is not shown.
IAMGOLD filed a new technical report on the Westwood project in Quebec, dated February 27, 2009 and prepared by its own technical team, to support its public disclosure. It says the property is held 100% by an IAMGOLD subsidiary and gives inferred resources of 11,283 thousand tonnes at 8.7 g/t, about 3.15 million oz, at a 4 g/t cut-off. This updates the resource estimate noted in the prior record (inferred ~3.5M oz in the context) and the scoping study that was due; the economics are mostly based on inferred resources, which the report calls preliminary and speculative. The visible text does not show the economic results or timelines.
IAMGOLD refiled a January 18, 2006 technical report on the Mupane gold mine in Botswana, written by Gallery Gold executives to support IAMGOLD's earlier proposed Gallery Gold transaction. It is a historical document with 2005 figures (reserves of 612,000 oz as at June 30, 2005; a 5.5-year mine life then), not a current estimate; the filing does not say why it was refiled now or what IAMGOLD's current interest in Mupane is. It joins the other old reports refiled the same day.
IAMGOLD filed an old independent technical report on the Damang gold mine in Ghana, effective July 1, 2004 and issued October 25, 2004, prepared for Gold Fields and IAMGold for the earlier proposed transaction. It is a historical document with 2004 figures (850,000 oz reserves, 303,300 oz produced in the year to June 2004, mine life to 2008), not a current estimate, and the filing does not explain why it was refiled or IAMGOLD's current interest.
IAMGOLD filed an old independent technical report on the Tarkwa gold mine in Ghana, effective July 1, 2004 and issued October 25, 2004, prepared for Gold Fields and IAMGold at the time of the earlier proposed Gold Fields transaction. It is a historical document, not a new estimate; its figures (e.g. 14.73M oz reserves at June 30, 2004, 550,000 oz produced in the 2004 financial year) are five years old and the filing does not say why it was refiled now or whether IAMGOLD still holds the interest.
IAMGOLD filed the updated Essakane feasibility study (effective June 3, 2008, re-addressed to IAMGOLD on March 3, 2009) to support its own disclosure now that it owns the project through Orezone. The report states that no changes were made other than correcting a table title and re-addressing and re-dating it, so it carries no new reserve or cost figures beyond the 2008 study. The visible text shows reserves based on a US$600/oz gold price, and the truncated filing does not show the numbers.
IAMGOLD reported drill results from its wholly-owned Boto exploration property in Senegal (630 sq km), including 15 m at 23.68 g/t and 9 m at 60.02 g/t gold in the Koulou Trend, though the company says continuity of mineralization at Boto 5 has not been conclusively demonstrated. It plans to spend US$1.7 million on 2008 Boto exploration, with more drilling in Q4; no resource estimate is given. This is a new exploration property in the record.
IAMGOLD released the long-awaited pre-feasibility study for its 100%-owned Quimsacocha gold project in Ecuador (due Q1 2008, so about four months late): 7.5-year mine life, average 202,000 oz/yr of gold, initial capital of US$337 million (±25%, including US$45M contingency), and a 21.3% pre-tax return at US$750/oz gold (13.4% at US$650). The filing says capital cost has risen substantially from cost pressures; a feasibility study is now due Q4 2009, construction early 2010 and commercial production in the second half of 2011, all dependent on Ecuador's new Mining Code, whose draft went to the President on June 27 and which he intends to publish by end of August.
IAMGOLD raised the Buckreef (Tanzania) resource: measured and indicated stays about 1 million ounces (16 Mt at 2.0 g/t), and inferred rose by 86,000 ounces to over 900,000 ounces, from drilling on the Minzwel-Busolwa trend. This follows the May 2008 promise of an update by end of July; the pre-feasibility decision is still open, a revised scoping study is now expected in August, and the 2008 budget is now US$9.9 million (up from US$9.5 million).
IAMGOLD raised the Westwood inferred resource to 3.5 million ounces (14.2 Mt at 7.6 g/t, 3.0 g/t cut-off), about 5% more gold than the June 2007 estimate. The company is accelerating development: a revised scoping study is due by end of September 2008, a feasibility study in the second half of 2009, and production from the near-surface Warrenmac deposit in late 2010. This follows the 2007 scoping study and the Zone 2 drilling.
IAMGOLD reported results from its first drilling at Sarakreek in Suriname (87.5% owned, 100 km south of the Rosebel mine), including 222.2 g/t gold over 7.5 m in one hole. The company says continuity has not been established and more drilling is needed; the 2008 budget is US$2.2 million and results for holes SK08-16 to 27 are still pending.
IAMGOLD reported strong drill results at its Buckreef project in Tanzania, which already has measured and indicated resources of about 1 million ounces of gold, including 24.8 m at 13.72 g/t. Because of these results the company extended the time to decide on moving to pre-feasibility, with an updated resource and project economics promised by end of July; the 2008 exploration budget is US$9.5 million.
New Westwood drilling found Zone 2 mineralization about 2.3 km deep, 800 metres deeper than before, including 10.0 metres averaging 11.5 g/t gold. The company says this could substantially increase the Westwood resource; valuation drilling on Zone 2 is planned for January 2008, building on the 2007 resource and scoping work.
IAMGOLD's internal scoping study on Westwood, which follows the exploration drilling reported in June, indicates about 200,000 ounces of gold a year for roughly 15 years, starting in 2012, based on inferred resources of over 3 million ounces. It estimates pre-production capital of US$316 million, with shaft sinking expected to begin in 2009; the company calls the study preliminary and notes inferred resources are too speculative to count as reserves.
IAMGOLD reported 16 more drill holes at its 100%-owned Quimsacocha project in Ecuador, including 32.6 metres averaging 5.3 g/t gold, 66.5 g/t silver and 0.36% copper. Management said it is monitoring Ecuador's political environment and expects the pre-feasibility study to be complete in Q1 2008.
IAMGOLD reported 12 more drill holes from its Westwood exploration program near the Doyon mine in northern Quebec, including 4 metres averaging 38.1 g/t gold. The results confirm three mineralized zones west of the Bousquet fault; the company plans over US$5 million of spending on the program in 2007, a scoping study due in August, and an updated resource estimate 'shortly'.
