Meanwhile, a press release on the third quarter financial results by Iamgold which recently acquired the Canada-based Cambior Inc said that the sale of OBMI is likely before year end.

"The sale process initiated in June by Cambior to sell its 70% interest in the Bauxite operation is still expected to close before year-end," said a press release by Iamgold on November 16. On November 8, Iamgold secured the purchase of all Cambior's shares, including OBMI at Linden.

The reliable source said that the Chinese company is a calcined bauxite producer and competed strongly with OBMI on the international market. RUSAL, the Russian company in charge of the Berbice bauxite operations had also signalled interest in the Linden bauxite operations.

Omai Bauxite Mining Inc (OBMI) came into operation in December 2004, after the government entered into a privatization agreement with Cambior that saw the privatization of the Linden Mining Enterprise (Linmine). Cam-bior after the privatization owned 70% of the company and the government 30%. This move by Cambior followed some 13 years of gold mining operations in Guyana in the Essequibo River at its Omai operations.

This year Cambior had projected earnings from OBMI of US$63M with 300,000 tonnes of refractory "A" Grade Super Calcined Bauxite ("RASC") production. Last year sales at OBMI reached US$38.7M.

However, OBMI suspended its operations for two months from July 1 reducing its 561 workforce by 350 employees. The shutdown according to Cambior, resulted from low demand for its RASC bauxite during the summer months and the suspension was to allow OBMI to reduce its RASC inventories. The projected fixed cost for the shutdown was estimated at US$1M. The workers returned to their jobs in September. Prior to the shutdown there had been high hopes that the Cambior-led operation would reverse the decline in the Linden bauxite industry.

In early November Cambior shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed arrangement under the Companies Act (Quebec) by which Iamgold of Canada acquired all outstanding shares of Cambior.

Under the arrangement Cambior shareholders received 0.42 of one common share of Iamgold for each Cambior share they held, a 31% premium on the Cambior share price on September 14, the date on which the arrangement was announced, according to information from Iamgold.

Acceptance

Acceptance of the arrangement required approval of at least 75% of the votes cast at the special general meeting of Cambior shareholders.

Some 99.7% of the votes cast by Cambior shareholders, in person and by proxy, were in favour of this transaction. Final approval was sought from the Superior Court of Quebec and the Court gave its approval.

Earnings data for Cambior released by Iamgold noted that the total gold production from assets (in Quebec, Canada - Sleeping Giant, Doyon Division, and Rosebel in Suriname) in the third quarter was 125,000 ounces with mine operating costs of US$340 per ounce compared to production of 158,300 ounces with costs of US$314 per ounce during the corresponding period in 2005. For the first nine months of 2006, production reached 378,000 ounces of gold with mine operating costs of US$332 per ounce, compared to 496,800 ounces at US$284 per ounce, a year earlier. The decrease in production for both the current quarter and the year-to-date is partially attributable to the end of operations at the Omai mine in September 2005, said the release. Cambior in January had begun underground exploration at the Omai site as part of its plan to conduct tunnel mining. An update on this venture in August by Cambior noted that positive developments were shown. The financial highlights did not say what will become of this venture now that Iamgold has taken over.

On November 17, Iamgold released its third quarter financial results as well.

Iamgold's net earnings for the third quarter of 2006 were US$13.4M or $0.08 per share compared to US$4.2M or $0.03 per shares for the third quarter of 2005. Net earnings for year-to-date 2006 were US$63.1M or $0.38 per share compared to US$14.3M or $0.10 per share for the same period in 2005. The increase in earnings is mainly a result of higher gold prices, and both increased production and cost of containment success at the Sadiola and Yatela Mines in Mali.

Iamgold is a leading mid-tier gold producer listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:IMG), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:IAG), the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:IGD) and the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE:IAMGOLD) with operations in Africa and South America.