What are the latest operational updates from Agnico Eagle’s Québec operations?

Going back to 2005, Agnico Eagle was a single-asset producer with LaRonde in the Abitibi region of Québec. Between 2005 and 2012, Agnico built five mines, and in 2014, we acquired Osisko with Yamana and created the Canadian Malartic partnership, of which we owned 50%, to manage and operate the Canadian Malartic. In 2022, we merged with Kirkland Lake Gold. In 2023, we acquired the Canadian assets of Yamana Gold, including the other half of Canadian Malartic, which today makes Agnico Eagle the largest gold producer in Canada, and the third gold producer in the world. Looking at our key operational highlights in Québec in 2022, gold production was around 827,000 oz/Au coming from three main assets: the Canadian Malartic complex, the LaRonde complex, and the Goldex complex.

Canadian Malartic produced over 657,000 oz/Au (on 100% basis) and has a mine life that will bring us up until 2029. If we include the underground portion (the Odyssey mine), this will extend to 2039. In 2022, we achieved 7 million oz at the complex. The mining of the first open pit, the Canadian Malartic pit, has been completed in 2023, and we are now mining the Barnat pit. This will allow us to transition to in-pit deposition for tailings in the first half of 2024. At Odyssey, in Q4 2022, we processed the first ore from development and started production in March 2023. We anticipate producing 50,000 oz/Au from the ramp this year. We have the permits, mill, and infrastructure there. Odyssey will be the biggest underground mine in Canada.

At the LaRonde complex, we produced 356,000 oz/Au in 2022, which is remarkable. LaRonde will reach its 35^thyear of production in 2023 and it still has a mine life that will bring us beyond 2030. LaRonde is the deepest mine in the Americas, and we are now mining at 3 km deep. We have implemented a lot of innovations there to overcome the challenge of mining at depth, and there is still a lot of potential.

At Goldex, we produced 141,000 oz/Au in 2022, and its current mine life will bring us beyond 2030. In 2022, we approved the construction of the Akasaba West project, which is an open-pit operation located 30km away from Goldex. We expect production from there to start in Q1 2024.

Can you expand on Agnico Eagle’s consolidation strategy in the Abitibi region?

Agnico Eagle became the sole owner of the Canadian Malartic Complex in 2023. We own the whole production from the pit and the production that will come out of Odyssey. That latest transaction also added the Wasamac Project to our portfolio (which was 100% owned by Yamana). That transaction solidifies our position in the Abitibi gold belt in Québec and into Ontario with over 31 million oz/Au in reserves. We now own the five largest gold mines in Canada, with three of them being in the Abitibi gold belt. We also have a JV with Maple Gold Mines in that area, located next to our former Joutel mine. We are always keeping an eye on the radar for potential opportunities.

How does Agnico Eagle leverage innovation at its Québec operations?

Agnico Eagle always had a long-term vision of the way we operate our mines. We foster “outside-the-box” thinking to improve safety, efficiency and reduce our environmental footprint. For example, we work with the government of Québec to rehabilitate an abandoned legacy site (Manitou), using non-acid-generating tailings from Goldex to cover the old tailings, cutting off their contact with oxygen and preventing them from generating acid. In terms of technology, at the LaRonde Complex, Agnico Eagle was the first company to implement a LTE 4G network in an underground mine. We are also testing battery-powered vehicles at Odyssey, as we want to build the mine of the future. We need to invest now, despite the technology not being fully ready, if we want to remain ahead of the curve.

What will be the key value drivers for Agnico Eagle in the next 24 months? 

The Canadian Malartic Complex is a big value driver in the future. Odyssey was approved with 7 million ounces in resources, and we want to develop the potential of that property. We will have a mill at Malartic that is currently processing shy of 60,000 tons per day, and once we mine underground only, it will be 19,000 tons per day, which will unlock a 40,000 tons per day extra milling capacity. That creates opportunities for synergies with some of our other projects in the Abitibi Gold belt in Quebec and Ontario. On the Ontario side of the Abitibi region, one of our biggest assets is the Detour Lake Mine, and we want to do asset optimization there and mill optimization and bring it up to 28 million tons p/y. We are also looking at developing other smaller projects in the area. The Canadian Malartic Complex is a big value driver in the future. Overall, we have a lot of potential to increase production at all our assets.