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IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD"
or the "Company) today reported that during this past weekend the
maintenance team has restarted the semi-autogenous grinding ("SAG")
mill at the Company's Essakane Mine in Burkina Faso.
On Monday November 1, 2010, the variable
frequency drive ("VFD") failed after attempting a restart of the
SAG mill following a temporary blackout in the generating station. The VFD
manages the delivery of power from the generating plant to the motor for the
SAG mill.
The primary focus of the diagnostic
process was on determining whether all or portions of the VFD can be repaired
or need to be replaced. While the diagnostic process continues, the
maintenance team explored and implemented a backup plan to use the ball mill
starter and drive system with the SAG mill motor after having modified that
motor to match the ball mill motor configuration. The SAG mill and the gold
plant can run independently without the ball mill and did so at about 60% of
its capacity during the summer before the ball mill came online.
Maximum throughput using this
configuration will only be known once the SAG mill's capacity is optimized
using this power configuration. The Company plans to update the market once
it is understood what happened with the VFD and there is a plan and timing to
repair it. The Company expects to be able to confirm or revise its annual
production guidance for 2010 concurrent with that update.
"In commercial production since
July 16, 2010, Essakane has been performing extremely
well," said Steve Letwin, President and CEO of
IAMGOLD. "This incident is unfortunate as during the month of October, Essakane produced more than 30,000 ounces of gold and has
been processing at a rate of more than 7.5 million tonnes
per year. We view this specific electrical issue with the variable frequency
drive as a rare occurrence and, once we complete the repair, it should in no
way affect the ramp up process nor the reliability of the plant. We remain
very optimistic about our future production targets at Essakane,
especially since we launched the feasibility study for expansion."
Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains
forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact,
that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes,
expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without
limitation, statements regarding the estimation of mineral resources,
exploration results, potential mineralization, potential mineral resources
and mineral reserves) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may",
"will", "should", "continue",
"expect", "anticipate", "estimate",
"believe", "intend", "plan" or
"project" or the negative of these words or other variations on
these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject
to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the
Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of
the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from current expectations include, among other things, without
limitation, failure to establish estimated mineral resources, the possibility
that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's
expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in
IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial
securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement speaks only
as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by
applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to
update any forward-looking statement.
About IAMGOLD
IAMGOLD (www.iamgold.com)
is a leading mid-tier gold mining company producing approximately one million
ounces annually from 8 gold mines on 3 continents. IAMGOLD is uniquely
positioned with a strong financial position and extensive management and
operational expertise. To grow from this strong base, IAMGOLD has a pipeline
of development and exploration projects and continues to assess accretive
acquisition opportunities. IAMGOLD's growth plans are strategically focused
in West Africa, select countries in South America and in the Canadian
provinces of Ontario and Quebec, where it also operates a niobium mine.
Please note:
This entire news release may be accessed
via IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com
and through Marketwire's website at www.marketwire.com.
All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.iamgold.com.
Si
vous desirez obtenir la version francaise
de ce communique, veuillez consulter le http://www.iamgold.com/French/Home/default.aspx.
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