Option Millionaires

[nlightn]

$IAG,...Gold miner IAMGOLD to sell Quebec niobium mine for $500M

IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) says it is selling its Niobec niobium mine in northern Quebec to an investor group led by Magris Resources, led by former Barrick Gold CEO Aaron Regent, for $530M.

The mine is one of the world's few producers of niobium, a metal with superconductive properties that is used to make alloys for jet engines, as well as in medical devices, mobile phones and to strengthen steel.

Analysts say the sale helps position IAG as a pure gold play and greatly improves its balance sheet, but shares fell 4.4% yesterday as gold prices slumped below $1,200/oz.

"We cannot count on the gold price to save this industry, so we're going to do what we have to do with things that are in our control, which are costs," IAG's CEO Steve Letwin says.