TORONTO  – Canadian gold-miner Iamgold has taken over as operator at the Siribaya gold project, in Mali, project owner Merrex Gold said on Wednesday.

Under a December 2008 option agreement, Iamgold can earn 50% of Siribayaby spending C$10,5-million over four years.

Iamgold advised Merrex in April this year that it would exercise a contractual right to assume operatorship of the project once the 2010 exploration programme was completed.

"We are at the halfway mark of the Iamgold earn-in option on the Siribaya gold project" Merrex CEO Greg Isenor said in a statement.

"Siribaya is advancing as we and Iamgold had hoped and I am pleased to see Iamgold taking over as project operator.”

Toronto-based Iamgold has mines in Burkina Faso, Suriname, Canada and Botswana, as well as joint ventures on operations in Mali and Ghana.

Source:miningweekly.com