TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold miner Agnico-Eagle Mines, which plans to double gold production this year and again in 2010, has executed a new revolving credit facility that increased its total credit lines to $900-million.

"The new facility provides Agnico-Eagle with additional liquidity for internal expansion opportunities, as well as financial flexibility to deal with potential investment opportunities and other corporate priorities," said CEO Sean Boyd.

The new nonamortising facility, which matures in June 2012, replaces an existing $300-million tranche of credit lines that would have matured in September 2010.

The firm also has an existing nonamortising $300-million revolving credit line, which matures in January 2013. This facility and the new line are both unsecured.

Agnico has also signed an unsecured C$95-million bonding facility with Export Development Canada, which it will use to provide letters of credit for environmental obligations or in relation to licence or permit bonds for its Meadowbank project, in northern Canada.

The facility matures June 2014.

Agnico-Eagle is bringing a string of new mines into operation, beginning with Goldex, in Quebec, last year, followed by Kittila, in Finland, early in 2009, and production is now under way at the Lapa mine, in Quebec.

Kittila is expected to reach commercial production in the third quarter of 2009, and the first gold production is also expected at the Pinos Altos mine, in Mexico, by the end of September.

First production at a fifth new mine, Meadowbank, in northern Canada, is scheduled for the first quarter of next year.

The company is also studying several expansion projects at the mines.

Agnico-Eagle's shares rose 2,76% on Tuesday morning, to C$61,04 apiece by 10:39 in Toronto.

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