Caliche,

Can you somehow quantify these latest numbers that were released on Dec. 23 as far as the potential for additional ounces to be announced later this quarter or in the second quarter. Would you be adding at this price between .77 and .80. Thanks again for this forum and I hope you have a healthy and prosperous 2010.

Tony

this may slow things down for IAG moving in on Oromin, unfortunately…

UPDATE 2-Iamgold CEO Conway steps down amid expansion drive

* Joseph Conway to leave company effective Jan. 15

* Peter C. Jones to be acting CEO

* Shares rise slightly, underperform peers

By Cameron French
TORONTO, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Canadian mid-tier gold miner Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) said on Monday that Chief Executive Joseph Conway has resigned effective Jan. 15 and will be replaced on a temporary basis by board member Peter C. Jones.

The surprise announcement had little impact on the company’s shares, but analysts said it raised uncertainty about the company’s future as it works to expand its production beyond 1 million ounces a year and develop its newly acquired Essakane gold project in Burkina Faso.

“The announcement caught me a bit by surprise,” said Barry Allan, analyst at Research Capital in Toronto.

In a statement, Conway said he and the board of directors had agreed “it would be an appropriate time for me to step down as an executive of the company.”

Conway joined the Iamgold in early 2003 and has overseen a number of acquisitions, most notably its C$1.3 billion ($1.25 billion) takeover of Canada’s Cambior in 2006.

The Toronto-based company currently operates eight mines in the Americas and Africa. It expected production of about 950,000 ounces last year, and will add about 300,000 annual ounces when Essakane reaches commercial output in August.

The company’s shares more than doubled last year due to soaring gold prices and improvements at Essakane and at the Rosebel mine in Suriname, but the stock traded largely sideways between 2002 and 2009, underperforming several like-sized peers.

“Certainly they bulked up the ounces, but the value creation aspect was a little bit more difficult,” Allan said.

“For him to exit on an upbeat note, it’s the right time probably, but it does create a fairly heavy degree of uncertainty there.”

In a research note, Macquarie Equities Research analyst George Albino said the announcement was a negative for the company as Iamgold had shown improved performance in the past couple of years under Conway’s leadership.

“Without a permanent replacement ready for Mr. Conway, we believe the market will view this as a source of confusion regarding Iamgold’s leadership and that the CEO’s departure will weigh on the stock in the interim,” Albino said.

The company’s shares were up 19 Canadian cents at C$16.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday, slightly underperforming other Canadian gold stocks.

Iamgold said it has appointed a committee to conduct a search for a permanent replacement.

Jones, who is not the same Peter Jones that recently stepped down as CEO of HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO), was most recently president and chief operating officer of nickel miner Inco before it was bought by Brazil’s Vale (VALE5.SA) in 2006.

200,000 shares of today’s volume was on an up-tick, so it doesn’t look like it was someone dumping shares. But, JMHO – I don’t have Level 2 access.

Joseph Conway did an outstanding job in his 5 years at Iamgold. One can only imagine how different Oromin would be with someone like him running the show. Now I suppose we have to cheer for the price of gold to rise high enough that even OLE will attract investor interest. We certainly aren’t going to see any change in the current “strategy”, if indeed there is one. I am afraid that anyone who thinks we are going to get $3 for our shares has been seduced by what Samuel Johnson called “the triumph of hope over experience”.

‘The old Iamgold . . . didn’t have the right focus or culture as an
operating vehicle and we needed to change that and basically
focus people on getting results and being accountable for that.’
Joseph Conway, President and CEO, Iamgold’
. . .
‘However, since then, Conway has been looking at more modest acquisitions,
seeking to add 100,000 to 300,000 oz. gold with each deal. “Since that time, we’ve been doing more incremental-style things — buying out costs, buying a project like Essakane — things that would have a meaningful impact on our production, but isn’t necessarily in itself a one-time transformational transaction,” Conway says.
The company is always looking for further acquisition opportunities in its three
key focus regions: the Guiana Shield, Quebec, or West Africa, and in June
snagged a 17% stake in Oromin Explorations (ole-t, olepf-o). The investment
in Oromin, which holds a 43.5% interest in the Sabodala gold project in eastern
Senegal, adds further promise to Iamgold’s already impressive portfolio.’

http://www.iamgold.com/pdf/Northern_Miner_August3_2009.pdf

Conway would be great but unfortunately we’re stuck with Chet – wrong focus, wrong culture.

Hopefully Conway’s leaving IAM might stir the Senegal pot. IAM selling their stake to someone else, an immediate IAMGOLD takeover, a Randgold vs IAMGOLD bidding war for MDL plus OLE or who knows what. With gold exploding (or gold collapsing), I really don’t want to wait until June for the next pre-feasability.