Wood, the global engineering and consulting company, has confirmed it will deliver the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the $1.3 billion Côté Gold open-pit mine for operator IAMGOLD Corp, supported by JV partner Sumitomo Metal Mining.
Côté is a world-class deposit located in northern Ontario, with estimated contained gold reserves of over 7 Moz. IAMGOLD wants to develop the site to be a model of a modern Canadian mine as it seeks to efficiently unlock the reserves, with Wood providing EPCM services for the project. This project is anticipated to generate over 1,000 jobs during construction and 450 during operations.
Dave Lawson, President, Mining & Minerals at Wood, said: “This project strengthens our relationship with IAMGOLD as a trusted full life cycle delivery partner and it solidifies Wood’s position as a global leader in the development of gold mines.
“Beginning with work on the initial scoping study in 2011, we have worked closely with IAMGOLD to guide the project toward successful execution, helping to identify more than $450 million of improvements in net present value. We were able to do so because of our unrivalled expertise in gold extraction technology having worked on some of the largest and most technically complex gold projects in the world.”
Over the last eight years, Wood has been working with IAMGOLD in every aspect of the project, adding, it says, value at every stage with innovative design and project delivery solutions. Wood’s latest scope of work includes engineering, procurement and construction management for the 36,000 t/d conventional gold processing plant, tailings and water management.
Gordon Stothart, President and CEO of IAMGOLD, said: “We are pleased to move to construction on the Côté Gold Project with our long-time engineering partner Wood. We look forward to bringing this project from concept to reality with their team.”
The Côté project is expected to expand IAMGOLD’s production profile for future growth, by bringing greater geographic diversity and a reduction in costs – enabling sustainable reserve growth and supply stability as demand factors shift in an uncertain environment, Wood said.
Construction of the gold mine commenced in late 2020, and is expected be completed in mid-2023. It is expected to leverage both autonomous drilling and haulage technology.