From Earlier: IAMGOLD Files Mineral Resource Report for Westwood Project; Confirms Resources and Start-up in Early 2013

IAMGOLD Corporation IAG yesterday announced that it has filed a mineral resources report in form 43-101F1 that confirms the announcement on February 23, 2012 of a completed development study of the Company's Westwood development project in Quebec. All previously announced information was confirmed by the report, with the exception of the grade for the indicated mineral resources at Warrenmac which changed from 8.6 to 8.5 g/t Au. Project expenditures in 2011 totaled $124.3 million ($94.9 million spent in 2010) for significant infrastructure preparation and construction, including the completion of the fire detection system, the new pump house, the waste silo, and commencement of ground support in the six-metre diameter ventilation shaft. Shaft sinking reached a depth of 1,455 metres, with the installation of a spill pocket and the safety bulkhead under the 104-0 level. Underground work in 2011 also included 9,315 metres of lateral and vertical development. Over 75,000 metres of diamond drilling, at a cost of $9.6 million, were completed during 2011 as part of the underground drill program. The program was designed to identify additional inferred resources and upgrade existing mineral resources to measured and indicated categories in tandem with the on-going underground development and construction. Four underground drills, working on the exploration drilling program below the 132 level, drilled over 28,600 metres during 2011. In addition, five drills focused on in-fill and delineation work, drilling nearly 46,600 metres during the year. The Company has acquired additional confidence in the inferred resources and the remaining exploration potential. Production start-up is scheduled for early 2013. Production in 2013 is forecast at 120,000 to 140,000 ounces, ramping up over a three to four year period to a nominal 200,000 ounces per year for the remainder of its life. Cash costs for Westwood are now forecast to average $533 per ounce over the life of the operation, higher than previously forecast. The increase is due to a number of factors, including the change in mining method, high labour cost inflation in the Abitibi region, adverse movement of the Canadian dollar/US dollar exchange rate, and increased input costs including reagents, steel for grinding and ground support, and fuel.