QUEBEC - Toronto-based IAMGOLD has accelerated work at its Westwood advanced underground gold project. The goal is to reach commercial production as soon as possible. The project is located 2 km from the company's Doyon gold mine near Val d'Or.
Work includes development of an exploration ramp, preparation for shaft sinking, updating the infrastructure and producing a revised scoping study. A new exploration ramp is to be driven above the current 14th level drift so that the upper portions of the deposit may be drilled. A letter of intent has been signed with a contractor for sinking an 865-metre shaft that may eventually be deepened to 2,000 metres.
Updated resource numbers are expected in July. The new scoping study will be ready by the end of September 2008. The company has begun a new drill program will increase the confidence level of the resources and establish geological continuity.
IamGold noted these recent significant drill intersections:
- 30.5 g/t Au over 3.0 metres in hole R14488-08
- 33.4 g/t Au over 5.0 metres in hole R14488-08
- 12.0 g/t Au over 9.0 metres in hole R14467-08
- 10.0 g/t Au over 4.0 metres in hole R14461-08
- 24.4 g/t Au over 4.0 metres in hole R14467-08
Particularly encouraging, said the company, is the discovery of additional vein structures that have high gold value intercepts. The original scoping study of September 2007 concluded that inferred resources contain more than 3.0 million oz of gold. This is based on an average life-of-mine diluted grade of 6.2 g/t Au, which assumes a 3.0-metre mining width, a 20% dilution factor and a 95% mining recovery. The Westwood mine could produce 200,000 oz of gold per year for approximately 15 years, with production beginning in 2012.
See also the company's website at www.IamGold.com.
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