Gold miner Agnico Eagle Mines will optimise and grow its Canadian assets this year, with a focus on Detour Lake and Canadian Malartic, while also establishing a plan to capitalise on excess mill capacity in the Abitibi region of Quebec.

Production from mill optimisation efforts will get under way next year and has the potential to deliver up to 500 000 oz/y of gold by the end of the decade, president and CEO Ammar Al-Joundi says.

The Canadian Malartic complex should have up to 40 000 t/d of excess mill capacity by 2028, as processing of openpit ore and low-grade stockpiles begin to wind down and processing transitions to the higher grade Odyssey mine, while the LaRonde Complex could have up to 2 000 t/d of excess capacity from the second quarter of this year.

Potential sources of ore for the excess capacity could come from near surface deposits at Macassa and the Amalgamated Kirkland (AK) deposit, the Upper Beaver and other Kirkland Lake satellite deposits, as well as the Wasamac project.

The AK and near surface deposits at Macassa have the potential to produce 20 000 oz/y to 40 000 oz/y, starting in 2024. Ore can be processed at the LaRonde Complex, which is about 130 km away and will avoid the capital cost of expanding mill capacity at Macassa.

The Upper Beaver project has the potential to produce 150 000 oz to 200 000 oz, starting in 2029. Processing scenarios include transporting the ore to the Canadian Malartic mill for processing.

The Wasamac project is coming into Agnico Eagle’s fold through the acquisition of Yamana Gold’s Canadian assets. The 200 000 oz/y mine could also use Canadian Malartic for processing.

Agnico Eagle has a strong competitive advantage in the Abitibi gold belt, having operated there for more than half a century. Buying Yamana’s Canadian assets will give it 100% of the Canadian Malartic mine, 100% of the Wasamac project and several other exploration properties in Ontario and Manitoba.

With the acquisition, which is set to close next month, Agnico Eagle’s production in the Abitibi is forecast to be about 1.9-million to 2.1-million ounces a year through to 2025.

Overall, the miner is forecasting production to grow from 3.28-million ounces in 2022 to between 3.4-million and 3.6-million ounces in 2025. 

Meanwhile, Agnico Eagle reports that underground development at the Odyssey project remains on schedule with initial production and the start of shaft sinking expected next month. The mined ore at Odyssey will be processed at the Canadian Malartic mill. From this year, the Canadian Malartic mine and Odyssey mine will form the Canadian Malartic Complex.

Delineation drilling of the internal zones at Odyssey South in 2022 showed potential to add production in 2024 to 2026.  Exploration in 2023 is expected to focus on further testing of the internal zones, expanding the East Gouldie zone to the east and west and mineral resource conversion.  Drilling will also be carried out to test other near-surface and underground opportunities to leverage excess mill capacity and infrastructure.