Gold bars
Iamgold Corp. is buying a stake in another Colombian gold company, the Toronto-based international gold producer's third investment in recent weeks in the South American country.
Iamgold said Friday it has invested $3.4-million to acquire a 14-per-cent stake in Colombia Crest Gold Corp.
The private placement follows earlier investments in Toronto-based junior miner Tolima Gold Corp. and Bellhaven Copper & Gold Inc. , which have Colombian gold prospects.
"Iamgold has extensive experience in South America," said the gold miner's president and CEO, Steve Letwin.
"The mineralization of Colombia's Middle Cauca gold belt is well known to our technical team and we have established strong relationships with the government. The combination of Colombia's untapped mining potential together with the increasing stability of the country is a key reason why we have our periscope up in this region. Colombia Crest has several early stage projects with attributes characteristic of the type of exploration opportunities we are looking for."
Colombia Crest is focused on gold projects in Colombia as well as its 100 per-cent-owned San SimDon project in Bolivia.
Iamgold is a mid-tier gold company with more than 5,000 employees in Canada and abroad.
The company produces about 1 million ounces annually from five mines in Canada, west Africa and South America.