EXPLORATION ROUNDUP — Deep drill program planned for Sadiola Hill gold property

A US$3.3-million program of deep drilling will test the sulphide zone beneath the oxide pit at the Sadiola Hill gold mine in Mali.

Iamgold (IMG-T), also known as International African Mining Gold, has a 38% stake in the mine, which is being operated by partner Anglo American. The first gold pour is expected by year-end.

At an extraction rate of 4 million tonnes of ore per year, annual gold production during the first six years is expected to average 386,000 oz. The operation will be one of the lowest-cost gold mines in the world with direct operating costs projected at US$138 per oz. and total cash costs estimated at US$169 per oz.

The 2-phase, deep-drill program planned for the sulphide zone will consist of 30 holes totalling more than 17,000 metres. In addition, an oxide drilling program to test an area 700 metres north of the current pit is slated to begin after the rainy season.

Iamgold and Anglo also plan to spend $3 million in the next fiscal year to explore joint-venture ground north and south of the mine.

Elsewhere in Africa, Iamgold and Ashanti Goldfields (AHD.U-T) are exploring for gold at the Mandiana concessions in Guinea, where 120 geochemical anomalies have been identified to date. A program of reverse-circulation drilling is under way. The partners are also exploring a large concession, also prospective for gold, in Niger.

Moreover, Iamgold has expanded its international exploration effort through the acquisition of concessions in Ecuador. Those properties will augment the company’s existing holdings northwest of Quito, where early-stage exploration is under way.