There is one narrative that remains constant for Canadian gold miner Agnico Eagle and that revolves around a commitment to foundational growth. This narrative stems from Agnico Eagle’s pursuit of growth on a per-share basis, with a focus on optimising return on capital and risk-adjusted return on capital, CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said on Thursday. Speaking on a conference call, he highlighted five foundational points that shape Agnico Eagle’s future endeavours.
The first is the Detour gold mine, in Ontario, where the company is working towards a target of one-million ounces a year by expanding the mill capacity and increasing the grade. The company is targeting 28-million tonnes a year and is working on opportunities to go even beyond that. Prior to a transformer failure in the third quarter, Detour was on track to achieve 27-million tonnes a year and the mill availability was hovering at about 92%. Agnico Eagle is also assessing the underground potential of Detour, with results expected to be published in the first half of next year.
The second pillar is transitioning Canadian Malartic, in Quebec, from being Canada’s biggest openpit mine, to the biggest underground mine through the Odyssey project. Canadian Malartic has been around for 100 years and in the last four years, 15-million ounces of resources have been added to it. Al-Joundi reported that production at Odyssey had ramped up to 3 300 t/d, just short of its target of 3 500 t/d by 2024.
