Canadian gold miner Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining have commenced commercial production at their jointly owned Côté gold mine in Canada.
The Côté gold mine is located in the Sudbury District, northeastern Ontario. Iamgold is the operator of the Canadian gold mine with a majority stake of 60.3%, while the remaining 39.7% stake is owned by its Japanese firm.
The open pit mine, which has a mine life of around 18 years, is expected to have a gold production of 205 tonnes of gold.
The mine has achieved the required operating average by consistently processing at 60% of its nameplate throughput capacity of 36,000 tonnes per day for 30 consecutive days.
Iamgold president and CEO Renaud Adams said: “Since achieving the first pour of gold on March 31, 2024, our teams have spent the last four months methodically and iteratively testing and ramping up all facets of the mine.
“This process has required remarkable commitment, ingenuity and teamwork to bring all the systems online together to achieve this milestone.”
Iamgold stated that the plant ramp-up is progressing smoothly, with all major equipment possessing the ability to operate at or above design specifications.
Following the initial pour, the focus in early Q2 shifted to testing the processing circuits to handle nameplate loads.
Although the primary components of the plant achieved or exceeded nameplate throughput, the dry-side processing facilities, particularly the crushing and screening circuits, experienced limited availability.
To address the concerns and mitigate the impact of normal wear and tear, Iamgold plans a multi-day shutdown in the next month. This maintenance is aimed at supporting the goal of increasing throughput to 90% by the end of 2024.
On a 100% basis, the production at the Côté gold mine is projected to be 6.9 tonnes in 2024.
