Agnico Eagle Mines (TSE: AEM) (NYSE: AEM) celebrated a significant achievement on Nov. 12 when a gold pour brought its Nunavut mine’s production total up to two million ounces.
The operation entered the commercial production phase in the spring of 2019. It has another eight years of life left, approximately.
“We did our official two-millionth ounce gold pour earlier this month on Nov. 12 and we invited some local stakeholders; some members from the Kivalliq Inuit Association, the hamlet, the [Kaniqliniq] Hunters and Trappers Organization and some of our local business partners to join us for that event to make it quite special,” Meliadine’s general manager, Jean-Claude Blais, told Nunavut News this week.
Some have described the operation as the “largest hotel” in the territory as it currently has more employees than most Nunavut communities. According to this week’s report from Nunavut News, there are over 1,600, 14 per cent of which are Inuit.
They generally work two weeks on, two weeks off. The average age of the mine’s workers is 40. It is a strictly dry environment and bringing booze on-site is cause for immediate dismissal.
This year, Meliadine is expected to produce over 5,000 more gold ounces than it did in 2023 at 370,000 ounces. Underground mining generates the vast majority while an open pit portion of the site churns out the remainder.
Nunavut gold mines account for nearly a quarter of the international gold major’s production total each year.
This gold bar poured on Nov. 12 marked a significant achievement. Photo credit: Agnico Eagle Mines
Read more: Calibre Mining finds high grade gold mineralization outside of its Valentine Mine resource
Read more: High grades in Nicaragua expected to raise Calibre Mining’s mineral resource
Agnico Eagles has 2 other Nunavut gold projects
Namely the large-scale Meadowbank Complex and the Hope Bay exploration asset.
Meadowbank is an open-pit and underground operation that has been producing gold since 2010. It churns out even more of the commodity than Meliadine, with a total of 490,000 ounces expected this year.
The anticipated production yield for 2024 is over 58,000 ounces higher than 2023. Resources will be depleted within about four years.
The vast Hope Bay property, which spans over 191,000 hectares, resides about 685 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. Exploration at the site over the past two years has been focused on expanding the resource footprint of its “Madrid” deposit.
Drilling there ramped up significantly throughout 2024. Along with the property’s two other known deposits, Doris and Boston, it has the potential to produce up to 300,000 ounces per annum after being further developed.
Hope Bay’s former owner, TMAC Resources, produced significant quantities of gold at the site in the years before Agnico Eagle took over. Comprehensive exploration of the property is now the main focus before production eventually resumes.
It has an indicated mineral resource of 1.3 million ounces, Agnico Eagle says.
rowan@mugglehead.com
