Pre-contact artifacts found around the site show evidence of human use for thousands of years.
An arrow head discovered at the site.
1900 Early prospecting started.
1908 First claim was staked.
1930 Alfred Gosselin discovered gold on the eastern shore of Three Duck Lakes.
1930–1938 Initial exploration for Chester Mine resulted in discovery of quartz-vein-hosted gold deposit (Chester vein #3).
Young-Shannon head frame from mining activity in the 1930s.
1979–1989 Diamond drilling delineated the Chester vein system over a strike length of approximately 1.5 km.
1986–1988 Chesbar Resources completed a decline of 1.7 km to explore the vein system to a vertical depth of 160 m. Despite extensive underground sampling and diamond drilling, insufficient resources were delineated to consider mining.
Gomak Mill, located at the site in the 1950s.
2009–2010 Trelawney Mining and Exploration completed dewatering and rehabilitation. Five drilling holes testing the Chester vein zone at depth demonstrated it was not continuous in width or grade. Three additional holes drilled 3 km to the west of the Chester veins confirmed historic, wide, low-grade gold intercepts and resulted in the discovery of the Côté deposit. The centre of the Côté Gold pit will be 3.5 km west of the old Chester Mine.
2010–2011 Trelawney completed rehabilitation of the Chester site, which included removing treatment ponds and some infrastructure and capping underground openings.
Old Chester Mine and buildings in 2010.
2012 IAMGOLD acquired Trelawney Mining and Exploration and continued exploration and delineation of the Côté deposit.
2012–2020 In this time, significant work was conducted by IAMGOLD to conceptualize and de-risk the Project. Exploration and diamond drilling continued, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies were conducted, and detailed engineering continued through to the construction decision.
2020 IAMGOLD and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. announced the decision to construct the Côté Gold mine.
Côté Gold groundbreaking ceremony, September 2020.
2021 Construction of the Côté Gold mine progressed with efforts focusing on water course management and realignment, mining infrastructure (including haul and access roads), fish relocation, and our process plant.
2021 construction progress video.
