Joint venture (JV) partners Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) on Friday broke ground on the Côté gold project, symbolising the construction start of the new $1.3-billion mine in Ontario.

In a statement issued by Toronto-listed Iamgold, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is quoted as saying that the new mine is good news for the Canadian economy.

“As the world continues to manage the impacts of Covid-19 and as we safely restart our economy, projects like this one will be vital to helping get Canadians back to work, and will continue to signal to international investors that Canada is a good place to do business,” he said.

Located in northern Ontario, about 20 km southwest of Gogama, the 70:30 JV with SMM will produce 460 000 oz/y of gold at an all-in sustaining costs of about $700/oz in the first six years of production with an 18-year mine life.

Côté is expected to generate more than 1 000 jobs during construction, 450 jobs during operations, C$5-billion in wages and more than C$10-billion in gross domestic product over its lifespan.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford thanked Iamgold for making the significant investment in Ontario. "The opening of this mine is a prime example of how the Ontario government can help businesses grow and create jobs by cutting red tape and removing regulatory roadblocks, without cost to taxpayers.

Iamgold announced a construction decision for the project in July. Its schedule, announced at the time, was to start construction in the third quarter, ramping up activities in the fourth quarter and entering into production in the second half of 2023.

At a gold price of $1 700, the mine is expected to generate value of more than $2-billion and an internal rate of return of 22.4%.

Iamgold held the groundbreaking ceremony alongside the Prime Minister of Canada, Premier of Ontario, MP Marc Serré, MPP Michael Mantha, Chief Chad Boissoneau from Mattagami First Nation and Chief Murray Ray from Flying Post First Nation, Minister John Yakabuski and Minister Greg Rickford.