Agnico Eagle provides update on Ontario gold mine

The Company has recently completed an updated mineral reserve and mineral resource estimate (MRMR) and an updated life of mine plan (the 2024 LOMP) for its Detour Lake mine as of 31 March 2024. The 2024 LOMP builds on the Company’s previously filed technical report on Detour Lake (2021) as well as the mine plan update released by the Company in July 2022.

The 2024 LOMP updates the opencast mine production profile and incorporates updated costing. The Company has also completed a preliminary economic assessment (the 2024 PEA) which contemplates the concurrent operation of the opencast and a proposed underground mining project, combined with mill throughput optimisation to 29 million tpa. The 2024 PEA demonstrates that the Underground Project and the mill optimisation have the potential to increase the Detour Lake mine’s overall production to an average of approximately 1 million oz/y of gold over a 14 year period, starting in 2030.

“At Detour Lake, the Company continues to build on the unique potential of this world class asset. With the development of an underground mine to complement the existing opencast mine, we see the opportunity to transform the asset into one of the top five gold mines in the world by output. We believe the Underground Project has relatively low execution risk, and has the potential to generate a strong risk-adjusted return on capital while maintaining exploration and production upside for decades in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world,” said Ammar Al-Joundi, Agnico Eagle’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

“We have adopted a phased and disciplined approach to develop this potential, with the approval of a US$100 million investment over the next three years to further study and de-risk the Underground Project, including the development of an exploration ramp and the collection of a bulk sample. Concurrently, we are planning a conversion and expansion drill programme to realise the upside exploration potential along the western plunge of the mineralisation. The long mineral reserve life and significant production base at both Detour Lake and Canadian Malartic provide a solid foundation for Agnico Eagle’s production profile and strongly positions the Company for decades to come,” added Mr. Al-Joundi.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/20062024/agnico-eagle-provides-update-on-ontario-gold-mine/