MONTREAL (AFP) — Canadian gold producer IAMGOLD Corp. said Thursday it would consider "all of our options" after the French government refused to issue final permits for the firm's project in French Guiana.
IAMGOLD said it received an official statement issued on behalf of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, "that the president will not approve the final permits necessary to commence construction of the Camp Caiman project located in French Guiana."
"IAMGOLD has committed significant resources to the Camp Caiman project and we will be considering all of our options for protecting and advancing those interests going forward," the Toronto-based company said in a statement.
A company spokesperson was not immediately available for further comment.
The French government statement, issued Thursday, sent IAMGOLD shares plunging on the Toronto stock exchange.
Shares plummeted over five percent at the market open and by mid-morning were down more than nine percent, at 8.25 Canadian dollars.
Informing its shareholders of the French government action, IAMGOLD said: "No technical, environmental or legal reasoning for the decision was provided in the declaration. The company will be seeking further information from the relevant authorities in order to determine next steps."
Sarkozy's spokesman David Martinon said the president wanted "gold mining compatible with the preservation of Guiana's rich biodiversity."
IAMGOLD said Camp Caiman is a development project hosting approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold.
It stressed the company had met all legal, technical and environmental obligations required during the permitting process and had received a positive recommendation from the CODERST, a government-appointed committee designed to review such projects.
"The Camp Caiman project exemplified the highest standards of environmental protection and innovation, based on an extensive application and public hearing process dating back to 2005," said Joseph Conway, IAMGOLD's president and chief executive.
"We firmly believe that the Camp Caiman project could be a catalyst for the economic development of the French Guiana region as well as a model for socially and environmentally responsible mining in France."
French Guiana, located on the northern coast of South America, is a French overseas department.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
