The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Mining Explorers 2023 - January 18, 2024
Underground trucks at Amaruq, a satellite gold project associated with Agnico's Meadowbank complex in Nunavut.
Agnico Eagle completed roughly 120,000 meters of resource expansion, upgrade, and exploration drilling at its Hope Bay gold mine project in Nunavut during 2023.
Toward its strategy to develop the full potential of existing gold mining operations and a key pipeline project, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. invested more than US$100 million on exploring this politically attractive and stable jurisdiction in Canada's Far North during 2023.
This robust 2023 exploration began with a US$79.6 million budget for its three primary assets in Nunavut – Hope Bay, Meliadine, and Meadowbank – but given the early success, the company added US$21.5 million to the Nunavut exploration budget at mid-year.
The exploration spending in Nunavut is a reflection of the company's philosophy and is part of a larger program that involved more than US$360 million invested into exploration on its gold projects in Canada, Finland, and Mexico.
"We're going to continue to focus on creating value through the drill bit," Agnico Eagle Mines President and CEO Ammar Al-Joundi informed shareholders.
By far the largest exploration program on Agnico's Nunavut projects was at Hope Bay, where the company budgeted US$62.4 million focused primarily on defining areas of higher-grade mineralization to support plans to reestablish a mine there capable of producing 350,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold per year.
After gaining ownership of the Hope Bay gold mine through the acquisition of TMAC Resources Inc. in 2021, Agnico decided to not immediately put the operation back into production. Instead, the company opted to invest the time and money needed to investigate larger production scenarios that integrate the results of an expansive exploration campaign.
Going into 2023, Hope Bay hosted 9.78 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 3.58 grams per metric ton (1.13 million oz) gold; plus 11.04 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 5.49 g/t (1.95 million oz) gold.
Agnico's exploration at Hope Bay is focused on expanding resources at Doris, the site of the mining carried out by TMAC, and Madrid, which lies about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) south of Doris, in preparation for resuming mining at the project.
By the end of September, Agnico had completed 119,771 meters of drilling in 194 holes at Hope Bay in 2023.
Highlights from 2023 drilling at Doris include:
• 6.4 meters averaging 15 g/t gold in hole HBBCO23-153.
• 5.1 meters averaging 5.5 g/t gold in hole HBBCO23-154.
• 4.8 meters averaging 17.1 g/t gold in hole HBBCO23-171.
Agnico says these holes demonstrate the potential to expand the resource beyond the previously mined areas.
Wide step-out drilling at Madrid, a deposit that lies about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) south of Doris, encountered strong gold mineralization in a 1,500-meter underexplored gap and below the current resource.
Highlights from 2023 drilling at Madrid include:
• 4.6 meters averaging 13.7 g/t gold in hole HBM23-086.
• 13.9 meters averaging 5.3 g/t gold in hole HBM23-091.
• 21.4 meters averaging 3.1 g/t gold in hole HBM23-095.
• 14 meters averaging 10 g/t gold in hole HBM23-105.
By October, Agnico had ramped down its 2023 drill programs at Doris and Madrid. The company, however, is now ramping up to full capacity with a winter drill program with wide step-out holes testing resource expansion targets at Madrid.
Agnico also invested US$23.6 million on exploration at Meliadine, a mine that produces roughly 370,000 oz of gold per year, on average.
The 2023 exploration program at Meliadine primarily focused on resource upgrade, expansion, and exploration drilling around the established deposit at the mine.
Going into 2023, Meliadine hosted 19.46 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 6.02 g/t (3.77 million oz) gold in seven deposits – six of which are in the current mine plan.
One of the primary targets for 2023 drilling was to test the depth extensions of the mineralized zones in the central part of the Tiriganiaq, Wesmeg, and Wesmeg North deposits.
Highlights from drilling at Meliadine during the first half of 2023 include:
• 3.7 meters averaging 8 g/t gold in hole ML425-9740-D28 (Tiriganiaq).
• 6.8 meters averaging 6.4 g/t gold in hole ML400-10200-D2 (Wesmeg).
• 7.4 meters averaging 6.3 g/t gold in hole ML400-10030-D8 (Wesmeg North).
• 16 meters averaging 6.4 g/t gold in hole M23-3583A (F-Zone).
Agnico says surface drilling at the easternmost end of Tiriganiaq is showing the potential to extend underground mineral reserves at relatively shallow depths.
At Amaruq – a satellite mine that is part of the Meadowbank Complex – Agnico budgeted US$8.4 million for a planned 32,000 meters of resource expansion drilling during 2023.
Going into 2023, Amaruq hosted 16.61 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 4.05 g/t (2.16 million oz) gold.
Processing ore trucked from Amaruq, the mill at Agnico's former Meadowbank Mine produced 373,785 oz of gold in 2022. With increases that began in 2023, gold production at this Nunavut mine is expected to reach 495,000 oz by 2025.
By mid-2023, the Meadowbank Complex had already produced 205,885 oz of gold due to higher-grade gold from both underground and open pits at Amaruq.
Deep drilling into extensions of known deposits at Amaruq in 2022 encountered several high-grade intersections over substantial widths that demonstrate the potential to extend underground mining.
Agnico's 2023 drilling at Amaruq focused on testing open-pit and depth extensions of mineralization and the potential for further underground deposits at the Amaruq satellite operation.
With the exploration success so far, the company says the Meadowbank complex is positioned to produce 470,000 and 505,000 oz of gold per year in 2024 and 2025. This production is currently anticipated to drop off in 2026 but the current exploration aims to continue to add reserves at Amaruq to feed the Meadowbank mill beyond 2027.
Agnico also budgeted US$6.7 million for 8,000 meters of drilling to explore for new, near-surface satellite deposits close to the road and infrastructure around Amaruq, Meadowbank, and Meliadine. Any new discoveries at open-pit depths have the potential to extend the life of each mine in conjunction with the extensions of higher-grade underground mineralization at each site.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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