Gold mine gets longer life

The Canadian gold-miner said it sees a longer life for the mine than earlier expected. Mupane is the only gold mine in Botswana and was expected to start closing by 2011. Iamgold said it expects to continue mining at Mupane until the second quarter of 2012, after declining costs gave it the leeway to increase mineral reserves by a net 64,000 ounce.

The company plans to continue to evaluate mining costs to determine whether it can develop additional resources to extend the mine life beyond 2012, Iamgold president and CEO, Joseph Conway said. "The increase in reserves is a direct result of Iamgold's aggressive cost and production initiatives," he said.