By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com


PARAMARIBO, Suriname; Operations at the Canadian-owned Rosebel Gold Mines (RGM) in Suriname are returning to normal and are expected to be running at full capacity this week, company officials have confirmed.

Gold production at the mine came to a halt on January 2007 when angry workers walked out after salary negotiations failed to produce an expected collective agreement with the employer, Toronto-based IAMGold Corp.

RGM-spokesman Roy van Aerde disclosed that the management and the union executive resumed talks last week to resolve the dispute. The union claimed that workers have been locked out since Monday January 29 after the Mediation Board, a labour dispute settlement body, ordered the union to end the strike and subsequently workers were summoned to resume duty.

ON Monday, IAMGold, which acquired Rosebel through its C$1.2-billion takeover of Montreal-based gold miner Cambior Inc. in November 2006, said its proven and probable reserves increased by 19 percent from 3.2 million ounces to 3.8 million ounces, as of December 31. This information and the resumption of the Suriname operations sent its stocks up 5 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Shares in the Toronto-based miner rose 51 cents to C$10.64 with almost 1.1 million changing hands.

CEO Joseph Conway said the increase in reserves ''represents, at least, an additional two years of mine life and we expect further increases as we undertake an aggressive exploration and reserve/resource development program on the Rosebel tenements during 2007.''

According to the company, union leaders had accepted a proposed three-year labour agreement Friday, with substantially the same terms presented by the firm on February 5.

Union leader Erroll Snijders was not available for comment when reached by phone, but sources revealed that the agreement has not yet been signed.

Company spokesman Van Aerde noted the company is trying to conclude a deal with the union without the intervention of third parties. Negotiations for a collective agreement have been continuing since May 2006. On January 23, the  parties reached an agreement in principle, which was, however, rejected by the workers’ general assembly and they subsequently went on strike.

The company still plans to seek damages from the union for all losses suffered when, it says, workers set up barricades and 25 trucks and 30 all-terrain vehicles were damaged. The basement of the mill was also flooded, allegedly by striking workers. The company does not yet have a dollar figure related to the strike's impact, although production lost is estimated at just under 20,000 ounces.

The reserve addition represents an increase of 6.2 percent to total IAMGold reserves, from 9.7 million ounces to 10.3 million ounces, as stated in November after the Cambior acquisition. In the third quarter, Rosebel produced 77,900 ounces of gold. IAMGold plans to report its 2006 full-year financial results on March 15.