Iamgold to restart Westwood in second half of 2021

Canada’s Iamgold (TSX: IMG, NYSE: IAG) has confirmed it will resume operations at its Westwood underground mine in southwestern Québec in the second half of the year.

The gold mine has been halted since late October, when Iamgold had to lay off 437 workers or 70% of its underground staff following a seismic event at the operation.

The mill restarted in November, processing stockpile and Grand Duc satellite open pit ore. Workers began returning to the site last month and Iamgold said it would focus on training and rehabilitation work for the remainder of the quarter.

When operations restart, it will be in the East zone and progress to other zones in a staged manner, the Toronto-based company said.

Mill feed this year is being sourced from the Grand Duc satellite open pit nearby the Westwood mill complex. It will be supplemented by underground material from the Westwood mine, Iamgold said.

Guidance for Westwood production is maintained at 45,000 to 65,000 ounces in 2021.

Last year, Iamgold revised the asset’s reserves downward, to 2.7 million tonnes grading 7.1 g/t gold, for a total of 618,000 gold ounces.

The miner also mentioned that it had finalized a new collective with workers at its Rosebel gold mine in Suriname, which applies to the two-year period until August 2022.