IAMGOLD Corp (TSE:IMG) (NYSE:IAG) has uncovered a new gold zone at its Côté project in Ontario, highlighting the enduring potential for discovery in the Canadian province.
The Toronto-based gold producer, one of the largest in the world, reported results from 14 drill holes totaling more than 7,000 metres that led to the discovery of a new area called the Gosselin zone, where results included 350 metres grading 0.8 grams per ton.
The Gosselin zone is 1.5 kilometres northeast of the known Côté gold deposit, which contains more than 7 million ounces of gold. The new discovery represents the most significant drill intercepts of continuous gold mineralization so far encountered outside of the Côté deposit, the company said in a statement.
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Côté is a 70:30 joint venture with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (OTCMKTS:SMMYY).
Grassroots gold discoveries are increasingly harder to find, especially in a historically prolific mining jurisdiction like Ontario. More and more, exploration is conducted on brownfield sites, or areas with known mineralization or historical mines.
Greenfield exploration is often too risky to conduct, even for cash-rich senior producers.
`Ongoing Commitment'
"The Gosselin Zone is a new grass-roots discovery, the result of our ongoing commitment to sustained exploration and an excellent group effort by the Côté Exploration team,” said Craig MacDougall, IAMGOLD’s senior vice president, exploration. “With the completion of a positive feasibility study for the Côté Gold deposit in 2018, demonstrating a solid development opportunity with a long mine life and low production costs, this exploration success continues to add to our track record of resource expansion and further enhances the long-term value of this exciting development project."
IAMGOLD is currently drilling a planned 4,500 metres to test for the extension of Gosselin in order to better understand the potential of the new zone.
Ontario is home to 18 operating gold mines and is the largest producer of gold among Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories.
Shares of IAMGOLD closed at C$4.83 in Toronto and finished at US$3.61 in New York on Wednesday.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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