IAMGOLD (IAG) 1Q Gold Production Soars

Gold production in the first quarter was strong for IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG), which reported it reaching 290,000 attributable ounces at a cash cost of between $570 and $580 an ounce.

For niobium, production came in at 29 1.1 million kilograms at a margin within the guidance range of $15 to $17 per kilogram.

IAMGOLD's President and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Letwin said, "Our mines have had an excellent start in 2011. The performance of assets where we are the principal owner and operator has been impressive this quarter, specifically our largest assets, the Rosebel mine in Suriname and the Essakane mine in Burkina Faso."

"Our Essakane mine has performed extremely well, despite protests in other parts of Burkina Faso," said Gord Stothart, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IAMGOLD. "The improving mill throughput and gravity circuit recoveries at Essakane continue to validate the expansion feasibility study currently underway. Early rains signal the beginning of the rainy season in Burkina Faso, giving us confidence that we can continue running this operation without unscheduled interruptions."

Iamgold was trading at $20.55, gaining $0.47, or 2.34 percent, as of 1:08 PM EDT.

IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) Should Rebound on Essakane, Rosebel Mines

IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) disppointed on their recent earnings report, mostly on their unplanned shutdown of their Essakane mine during the last quarter.

That also forced the company to lower guidance on the temporary situation. The shutdown was the result of a mechanical failure.

Canaccord Genuity still likes them and sees them rebounding going forward, maintaining their "Buy" rating on them.

"We are reiterating our rating on IAG following the release of lower-than-expected Q3/10 results and lowered 2010 production guidance due to an unplanned temporary shutdown of the Essakane mill in Q4/10 following a mechanical failure. We expect the issues to be resolved in the near term and continue to rate IAMGOLD's shares a BUY based on relative valuation and reserve/resource upside particularly at the flagship Rosebel and Essakane mines as well as the potential for additional value associated with an eventual expansion of Essakane," said Canaccord.

IAMGOLD was trading at $18.55, gaining $0.05, or 0.27 percent, as of 12:48. Canaccord has a price target of $26.50 on the gold miner.

IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) Drops Over 5 Percent, Even with Starting Production at Essakane Mine Six Months Early

IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) participated in the gold sell-off Thursday, as their recent good news of beginning production six-months ahead of schedule at their Essakane gold mine wasn't enough to overcome the punishing trend.

Gold prices fell below $1,200 at one point in the trading session as investors decided to go with Treasury's for a safe haven, although that is sure to change soon.

Earlier in the week IAMGOLD announced they were far ahead of schedule in opening the mine, which will produce about 500,000 ounces of gold through 2011.

IAMGOLD owns 90 percent of the mine, while the government of Burkina Faso owns the other 10 percent.

The miner ended Thursday's session at $16.77 in New York, dropping $0.91, or 5.15 percent.

Iamgold (TSE:IMG) Down Over 6 Percent

Just about every gold miner has been experiencing the correction in gold prices, and Iamgold (TSE:IMG) (NYSE: IAG) was no different, taking it on the chin Thursday, dropping 6.14 percent in New York, or $1.05, and 4.04 percent in Toronto, or $0.72.

Volume didn't swing as much as it did with other gold mining stocks, as they were relatively within their 3-month range, up to 7,439,012 in New York, compared to the 3-month average of 4,280,140, and in Toronto it was real close, increasing to 3,685,424, while the 3-month average volume is 2,659,430.

On the NYSE, Iamgold finished the session at $16.05 a share, while in Toronto they were down to $17.11 a share.

Recent good news for the gold miner is they're ahead of schedule on their Essakane project, now close to half a year ahead of the original projected start-up, and now from four to six weeks ahead of the revised start-up estimate.

Projections for Essakane are to produce about 500,000 ounces of gold by the end of 2011 from the startup date, with cash costs of between $400 an ounce to $410 an ounce.