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NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS JULY 2017 • E&MJ; 5 www.e-mj.com "Greenfields mining is dead," Baxter said. "Companies cannot get prospect- ing permits. Only brownfields exploration around existing mines." The promulgation of the new charter is likely to be the biggest crisis the indus- try has faced for some time, and shares of local operators plunged up to 5% after the news. President Jacob Zuma is deeply un- popular following a series of corruption scandals involving him, his family and business associates. At the same time, the country has now tipped into a reces- sion and been downgraded by ratings agencies to junk status, considerably rais- ing the cost of capital. Unemployment also hangs at around a third of the working age population — among the highest of any industrial econ- omy. As a result, Zuma has been making populist noises around the nationalization of land and "radical economic transfor- mation" to appease critics. There is speculation that the charter may be another populist attempt to shore up his flagging support. Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane alluded to as much in a prepared speech on the charter. "The need for more radical measures in order to meet the socioeconomic needs of our people has never been greater than it is right now," Zwane said. "As a coun- try with a substantial amount of untapped mineral resources, we have a unique op- portunity to use these minerals as a cat- alyst not only to adopt more aggressive economic growth efforts, but to catapult South Africa's economy forward." Agrium and PCS Become Nutrien Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (PCS) and Agrium announced that once the antici- pated merger transaction closes, the new company will be named Nutrien. Accord- ing to the two companies, the new orga- nization will be the global leader in re- liable, low-cost crop nutrient production, combined with the largest agricultural retail-distribution network in the world, according to PCS. The regulatory review and approval process for the merger con- tinues and they expect it to close in the third quarter of 2017. The two companies announced a merger of equals in September 2016. Then, in November 2016, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the transaction to be implemented by way of a plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act. Shareholders of both companies overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposed merger of equals. Iamgold-Sumitomo JV Will Develop Ontario Gold Project Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining have agreed to form a joint venture to de- velop Iamgold's Côté gold project approx- imately 200 kilometers (km) northwest of Sudbury, Ontario. Sumitomo will pay an aggregate of $195 million for a 30% un- divided participating interest in Iamgold's 92.5% ownership interest in the project. Côté is one of Canada's largest unde- veloped gold deposits, with proven and probable reserves totaling 5.9 million ounces (oz) in 196 million metric tons (mt) grading 0.94 grams/mt of gold. Along with its announcement of the Sumitomo agreement, Iamgold reported positive re- sults from a prefeasibility study (PFS) of the Côté project and said it will proceed with a feasibility study, which is planned for completion in the second half of 2018. The PFS describes a project producing 320,000 oz/y of gold over a mine life of 17 years. Initial capital expenditures are estimated at about $1 billion. Life-of-mine average total cash costs are estimated at $605/oz, and life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs are estimated at $689/oz. The study identified the preferred development option as a conventional truck-and-shovel, open-pit mining op- eration, with a life-of-mine strip ratio of 2.85:1. Processing is planned at a rate of 32,000 mt/d through a circuit incorporat- ing primary crushing, secondary crushing, tertiary high-pressure grinding rolls, ball milling, gravity concentration, and cya- nide leaching, followed by gold recovery using carbon-in-pulp, stripping, and elec- trowinning. Metallurgical recoveries are estimated at 91.8%. The planned crushing-grinding circuit is more energy efficient than a standard SAG mill or pre-crush circuit and uses less crushing and grinding media. A thickened tailings management facility is included in the planning. A 44-km tap line connection to Hydro One's Shining Tree substation will provide power to the mine site. Iamgold President and CEO Steve Letwin said, "The robust project eco- nomics generated from the prefeasibility study further validate our view that Côté is an exceptional organic growth project, particularly when our industry faces a shortage of undeveloped gold deposits in attractive mining jurisdictions with sur- rounding infrastructure.... Additionally, Côté has significant exploration upside potential, with more than 500 km 2 of exploration-rights held property surround- ing the deposit. We are looking forward to working with Sumitomo to advance the Côté gold project toward development." The Côté project PFS was completed jointly by Iamgold, Amec Foster Wheeler With more than 500 km 2 of exploration rights held property surrounding the deposit, Côté is one of Canada's largest undeveloped gold deposits.