Can you provide an overview of Agnico Eagle’s global footprint, highlighting its presence in Québec?

Agnico Eagle was founded in 1957 with its first mine in the cobalt region of Ontario. The company has experienced tremendous growth since then and now has 11 total operating mines, seven of which are in Canada, two in Mexico, one in Finland, and one in Australia. In Canada, we have two operating mines in Nunavut, two in Ontario, and three in Québec. Fifteen years ago, we envisioned increasing production to 1 million oz Au in a year. Agnico Eagle is now the third largest gold producer in the world with 3.2 to 3.4 million ounces anticipated production in 2022.

Beyond its operating mines in Québec, Agnico Eagle participates in exploration projects in the province. For example, we made a joint venture with Maple Gold Mines on the Douay and Joutel gold properties, close to our former Joutel mine. We also have other smaller investments in the Abitibi region.

What have been the operational highlights at Canadian Malartic, Goldex, and LaRonde over the past year?

Agnico Eagle achieved commercial production at the Goldex mine in 2013, and it officially hit one million oz produced at the end of 2021. In 2021, Goldex produced 134,053 oz Au at total cash costs of C$684/oz. Production guidance for 2022 is in the range of 130,000 to 140,000 oz with a cash cost of $776/oz. The mine still has over 1 million ounces in mineral reserves, with a life of mine that goes past 2030. Goldex is a low-grade underground mine which is run very efficiently. For instance, the Rail-Veyor system, a new technology installed in 2017, is an electrically powered haulage system that can be operated remotely.

We also have the LaRonde Complex in the Abitibi region, which is comprised of the LaRonde mine that has achieved commercial production in 1988 and the LaRonde Zone 5 mine (LZ5). Extending below 3 km underground, LaRonde is the deepest mine in the Americas; we even have to use two shafts to access the orebody at depth. To mine at these depths requires innovative technology, and Agnico Eagle was the first producer to deploy a private 4G LTE network in an underground mine in the world at LaRonde. It is our oldest mine, yet it is our most advanced in terms of technology. Adjacent to LaRonde is LZ5, which had been exploited by open pit mining by its previous operator. We achieved commercial underground mining production at LZ5 in 2018, with ore processed at the same milling complex as the LaRonde mine. Here, we have implemented trucks that can operate autonomously with a collision avoidance system.

Of course, the Canadian Malartic mine, of which Agnico Eagle owns 50%, is a key asset in our portfolio. The mine produced 714,784 oz (on a 100% basis) in 2021 and was Canada’s largest operating open-pit gold mine. It represented 41% of Agnico Eagle’s Québec production in 2021. Importantly, we also see significant growth potential here, with the underground Odyssey project currently under construction. This will extend the overall mine life to 2039 and be the largest underground gold mine in Canada.

Do you anticipate any corporate synergies to arise from Agnico Eagle’s merger with Kirkland Lake Gold?

There are several advantages to this merger. First, the company consolidated the Kirkland Lake camp and enhanced its position in one of the most prolific gold regions in the world. This consolidation provides a unique opportunity to unlock significant operational and strategic synergies along the Abitibi-Kirkland corridor.

How does Agnico Eagle act upon its commitment to high ESG standards?

Sustainability has always been integral to our operations. We maintain strong community relations and implement good neighbor frameworks for our mines. We purchase local and have invested around C$750 million in goods and services purchased through suppliers in the Abitibi region in 2021. On the environmental side, Agnico Eagle has one of the lowest GHG emissions intensities of any senior gold producer. We are excited to adopt battery electric vehicles into our operations, but the technology is still under development for large underground equipment.