Iamgold Says Exceeds FY Production Target

(RTTNews) - Iamgold Corp. (IMG.TO, IAG) reported preliminary full year 2016 attributable production of 813,000 ounces was higher than guidance of 770,000 to 800,000 ounces. All of operating mines exceeded the top end of their guidance. Attributable gold production for the fourth quarter 2016 was 215,000 ounces.

Both total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs for 2016 are expected to be within guidance ranges of $740 to $770 per ounce and $1,050 to $1,100 per ounce, respectively.

President and CEO, Steve Letwin, said, "as strong operating performance and the achievement of critical milestones have well positioned us for growth. With strategies to capitalize on organic growth opportunities at all of our mines and a balance sheet that enables us to internally fund this growth, we're confident that by 2020 we can take production to one million ounces and reduce all-in sustaining costs by 15%. We expect production in 2017 to increase by 4-9% from last year with all-in sustaining costs ranging between $1,000 and $1,080 an ounce.

In 2017, the company expects gold production to increase to 845,000 to 885,000 ounces, compared to 813,000 ounces in 2016. Westwood will continue to focus on underground development, with expected production of 115,000 to 125,000 ounces, nearly double that of 2016. The higher production at Westwood reflects commercial levels of production from three mining blocks, including the zone where remedial work was completed last year.

At Rosebel, the company expects higher grades and improving productivity will drive production higher despite the lower throughput anticipated with the proportion of hard rock approaching 70%. At Essakane, throughput and recoveries are expected to increase while grades are expected to be lower. The joint ventures are expected to produce between 65,000 and 75,000 ounces.

The company lowered our all-in sustaining cost guidance to a range of $1,000 to $1,080 per ounce, as it has continued to realize significant benefits from performance optimization initiatives across the sites.

In 2017, the company expects capital spending to be $250 million ± 5%. Of the $170 million allocated to sustaining capital for owner-operated mines, 39% is for capitalized stripping at Essakane ($39 million) and Rosebel ($28 million) and another 30% is related to spending on capital spares and equipment at these sites.