IAMGOLD’s Cote Mine officially opens with ribbon cutting ceremony

New gold mine opens near Gogama A new gold mine near Gogama held its grand opening this week to acknowledge all the partners whose hard work made it happen.

After nearly four years of construction, IAMGOLD’S ‘Cote Mine’ is officially open.

Bryan Wilson - Cote Mine opens Bryan Wilson (left), Cote Mine’s General Manger, hosted company officials, its partners from Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining and from local Indigenous Communities for an onsite celebration. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)

In honour of the teamwork needed to make the operations happen, company officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and luncheon on the grounds of its large open pit gold mine on Wednesday.

Cote Mine is a 60-40 joint venture between IAMGOLD and Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Company.

Exploration activities have been ongoing since the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until those two companies partnered to construct a $3 billion operation, that it’s now a reality.

Mine officials said it’s created employment for hundreds of people in the area.

“At the peak… we had about 1,950 people," said Bryan Wilson, the mine's general manager.

"We're going to level out at about 700 to 800 people so there will be a lot of jobs here.”

grand opening - Cote Mine To celebrate Cote Mine's official grand opening, officials with IAMGOLD hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and luncheon on the grounds of its large open pit gold mine on May 22, 2024. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)

Cote Mine is located on Sultan Industrial Road, near Gogama.