IAMGOLD Puts Côté Gold At Lower End Of 270,000-310,000 Ounce 2026 Range
The miner reported 64,400 attributable third-quarter ounces and a record September mill rate ahead of Thursday's mine tour.
IAMGOLD said in a Wednesday release that Côté Gold produced 64,400 ounces attributable to the company in the third quarter, and that 2026 attributable output is expected at the lower end of its 270,000 to 310,000 ounce guidance range. The release, furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K, carried preliminary operating results ahead of an analyst tour of the mine.
What the operating update shows
The 64,400 ounces equal 92,000 ounces on a 100% basis. IAMGOLD holds 70% of the mine in a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining. Year to date, attributable production is 184,000 ounces (262,900 ounces on a 100% basis).
The company's 2026 range is 270,000 to 310,000 attributable ounces, or 390,000 to 440,000 ounces on a 100% basis. It expects the fourth quarter to be higher, citing better grades from mine sequencing and faster processing.
The third quarter was lower than the second quarter's 67,300 attributable ounces. Recovery averaged 90%, against 93% in each of the first two quarters, because one of the plant's two Vertimills (grinding mills) was down early in the quarter. Gold sales were 59,200 attributable ounces.
Mining set a quarterly record of 12.4 million tonnes, including a single-day record of 225,000 tonnes mined ex-pit on August 10. The strip ratio was 2.3:1. Mill throughput was 2.9 million tonnes, held back by an extended August shutdown, but September averaged a record 37,100 tonnes per day, above the 36,000 nameplate.
What it changes
This was the first full quarter without contractor crushing. The company had hired outside crushers in 2025 because of constraints in the crushing circuit, which a second cone crusher installed at the start of the year addressed. Contractor use ended by the end of June 2026.
IAMGOLD says processing costs are improving and that better-sized feed is extending wear life on the high-pressure grinding rolls. Work has begun on a third Vertimill, expected to be installed in early 2027.
The company expects to announce an updated mine plan and Mineral Reserve estimate in the fourth quarter. It says the plan should show a significant expansion of reserves and mine life, with a path to sustained rates of about 40,000 tonnes per day. It is also evaluating a larger plant expansion.
CEO Renaud Adams said: "We enter the fourth quarter with momentum."
What to watch
IAMGOLD hosts analysts and institutional investors at the mine on Thursday, with presentation materials posted on its website that day. Full third-quarter results come November 5 after the market close, with a call on November 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The fourth-quarter mine plan, due with a Technical Report shortly after, will test the company's claim of a significant reserve expansion.
