IAmGold breidt zucht naar goud uit te Brokolonko

Concessie ligt vlakbij de Saramacca-concesssie van Canadezen


De Canadese  goudmijnmultinational IAmGold heeft goudexploratierechten verworven voor de Brokolonko-concessie. Dit meldt de Ware Tijd vandaag, donderdag 25 januari 2018, zich baserend op een gisteren door IAmGold, onderstaand, utgebracht persbericht. Deze concessie ligt vlakbij de Saramacca-concesssie waar het bedrijf eerder op een grote goudafzetting is gestuit. De nieuwe concessie ligt ongeveer 30 kilometer verwijderd van de Rosebel-mijn in Brokopondo en ten noordwesten van de Saramacca- en Sarafinaconcessie. 

IAmGold stelt, dat in tegenstelling tot de Saramacca- en Sarafinaconcessie, het recht om in het Brokolonko-gebied te exploreren rechtstreeks van de Surinaamse overheid is verkregen.

'Het verkrijgen van de exploratierechten te Brokolonko betekent een volgende stap in onze strategie om mogelijke concessies in de nabijheid van de Rosebel-mijn te verwerven', aldus Steve Letwin, algemeen directeur bij IAmGold. 'Het was in september vorig jaar dat we een jaar na de overname de eerste schatting van de reserves in Saramacca bekendmaakten, en we werken nu aan de start van de productie in 2019', aldus de directeur. Hij voegt er aan toe, dat IAmGold gelooft dat Brokolonko op dezelfde goudrijke strook als Saramacca zit. Het zou een andere bron van zacht gesteente van hogere kwaliteit kunnen opleveren die de levensduur van Rosebel kan verlengen en ook het productiekostenprofiel van deze plant kan verbeteren.

De toegang tot meerdere concessies nabij Rosebel biedt voorts de mogelijkheid om nog enkele levensjaren aan de Rosebel-mijn toe te voegen. Dit stelt IAmGold ook in de gelegenheid een opkomend goudgebied met Rosebel als middelpunt te consolideren wat tot voordeel van de Canadezen en Suriname zal zijn.

De Brokolonko-concesssie is ongeveer 105 vierkante kilometer groot. In dit gebied werd vanaf de jaren '60 aan kleinschalige goudwinning gedaan. Vanaf de jaren '90 heeft Golden Star Resources exploratie in het gebied uitgevoerd, later in een joint venture met Newmont Mining. Volgens de overeenkomst met IAmGold kan Suriname een belang tot maximaal 30 procent verwerven in alle concessies die de multinational krijgt.

http://www.iamgold.com/English/investors/news-releases/news-releases-details/2018/IAMGOLD-Consolidating-an-Emerging-New-Gold-District-Anchored-by-Rosebel/default.aspx

IAMGOLD Consolidating an Emerging New Gold District Anchored by Rosebel

Jan 24, 2018

Exploration rights granted to Brokolonko property near Saramacca

TORONTO, Jan. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") has signed an agreement with the Government of Suriname whereby it has been granted the exploration rights to the Brokolonko property. The property is located approximately 30 kilometres from the Rosebel mill in Suriname and just northwest of the previously acquired Saramacca property and the Sarafina property optioned to IAMGOLD. Unlike Saramacca and Sarafina, IAMGOLD has not acquired Brokolonko from a third party, but has instead secured the rights to exploration directly from the Government of Suriname. (See attached map).

"Securing the exploration rights to Brokolonko cements another step in our strategy to consolidate prospective land packages within the vicinity of the Rosebel Mine," said Steve Letwin, IAMGOLD's President and CEO. "It was just last September that we announced an initial resource estimate for Saramacca a year following its acquisition, and are now working towards an initial production start in 2019. Brokolonko, which we believe is located on the same mineralization trend as Saramacca, could yield another source of higher grade, softer rock that would further extend the life of Rosebel and further improve its cost profile. Having access to numerous concessions around Rosebel presents an opportunity to add years to the life of the Rosebel mine, and is allowing us to consolidate an emerging new gold district anchored by Rosebel that is mutually beneficial to IAMGOLD and the Republic of Suriname." 

The Brokolonko property is the third property that IAMGOLD has secured within the Unincorporated Joint Venture "UJV" area as defined in the Agreement with the Government of Suriname announced on April 15, 2013. The UJV area is a circular area, excluding the Rosebel concession, which extends 45 kilometres from the Rosebel mill and comprises approximately 6,200 square kilometres. Under the Agreement the Government of Suriname has the option of taking a 30% participating interest in any of the properties falling under the jurisdiction of the UJV agreement, with IAMGOLD retaining the other 70%. 

The Brokolonko property, comprising approximately 105 km², has a history of episodic small scale mining activity dating back to the 1960's.  Regionally, the area has been explored since the 1990's, principally by Golden Star Resources and later as a joint venture between Golden Star and Newmont Mining. Much of that work focused on what was delineated as the Anomaly M Trend on the Saramacca concession. Reconnaissance work and geochemical auger sampling programs undertaken by predecessors in the general northwest extension identified a series of gold anomalies on both the Sarafina and Brokolonko properties. To date the Brokolonko property has been tested by limited drilling.

Next Steps
The Brokolonko property will require significant future exploration to confirm the presence of mineralization and to advance it to a resource stage. In the coming months, geological compilation and mapping will be initiated, along with auger geochemistry to confirm the location and intensity of historical gold anomalies identified by predecessors. To support this targeting effort, an airborne magnetic and Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic survey is scheduled to begin in mid-February for completion by the end of March. The survey will cover the Saramacca structural corridor interpreted to extend from the Saramacca concession northwest through the Sarafina and Brokolonko concessions, a distance of approximately 15 kilometres. Targets arising from this initial phase of exploration will be prioritized for follow up by  a 'first pass' reverse circulation drilling program to be planned following the initial work program.

Qualified Person InformationThe 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 IAMGOLDIAMGOLD (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.