Agnico Eagle to ascertain exploration decline, shaft at Higher Beaver

Agnico Eagle is investing $200 million over the following three years to “additional research and de-risk” its Higher Beaver venture in Ontario, Canada, with plans to ascertain each an exploration decline and exploration shaft.

An inside analysis of the Higher Beaver venture was accomplished in June 2024. Based mostly on this analysis, the corporate believes Higher Beaver has the potential to supply an annual common of roughly 210,000 oz of gold and three,600 t of copper, with preliminary manufacturing potential as early as 2030.

Over an anticipated 13-year mine life, whole payable gold and copper manufacturing is predicted to be roughly 2.8 Moz and 46,300 t, respectively, based mostly on a 5,000 t/d manufacturing charge. Estimated whole money prices per ounce on a by-product foundation and all-in sustaining price per ounce on a by-product foundation are anticipated to be roughly $592 and $733, respectively.

“As well as, the venture has the potential to unlock vital exploration potential at depth and inside satellite tv for pc deposits within the firm’s Kirkland Lake camp,” Agnico Eagle mentioned.

At Higher Beaver, roughly $50 million is forecast to be spent in 2024 associated to the development of floor services, website preparation and the excavation of the shaft collar. Preparatory website work commenced in early 2024 and roughly $15 million was spent within the first half of 2024.

With the whole $200 million funding, the corporate intends to develop an exploration ramp and an exploration shaft to depths of 160 m and 760 m, respectively, to ascertain underground drilling platforms and to gather bulk samples from the 2 most consultant geological zones of the Higher Beaver deposit. The exploration ramp and exploration shaft shall be sized to accommodate the potential manufacturing section and are included within the preliminary capital expenditures estimate of roughly $900 million. Excavation of the ramp and shaft sinking are anticipated to start out within the second half of 2025.

Higher Beaver is within the township of Gauthier, in north-eastern Ontario, roughly 25 km to the east of the city of Kirkland Lake. The district has a steady historical past of mineral exploration and mining spanning greater than 110 years and with an mixture of over 42 Moz of gold produced by varied producers.

The mineralisation has been outlined alongside a 400-m strike size from floor to a depth of two,000 m and it stays open at depth. Whole indicated sources are presently 30.9 Mt at 3.47 g/t Au and 0.23% Cu, plus 3 Mt indicated at 4.13 g/t Au and 0.36% Cu.

The mining technique developed for the Higher Beaver venture is to mine the deposit primarily by standard underground strategies, though a small portion (roughly 10% of the mineral useful resource) shall be mined by way of an open pit. The underground and open-pit mines are anticipated to be developed inside the similar time-frame.

Open-pit operations will make use of standard strategies of drilling, blasting and loading by excavator and wheel loader, with materials haulage by truck to the assorted stockpiles, waste dump or on to a crusher.

Underneath present eventualities, manufacturing from the open pit is predicted to happen from 2030 to 2034 at a median charge of roughly 2,000 t/d, of which 500 t/d shall be stockpiled for later processing.

Present eventualities ponder underground entry by way of a major decline ramp in addition to a shaft that’s 1,220-m deep and 6 m in diameter. 4 major stations are deliberate alongside the shaft, together with a loading station on the backside of the shaft. Ore and waste above 430-m depth shall be hauled to floor by vans by way of the ramp. Ore and waste beneath 430-m depth shall be managed primarily by way of an ore and waste move system and skipped to floor by way of the shaft.

The underground mining idea relies on a protracted gap open stoping technique, with sublevels each 30 m and with stopes to be backfilled with paste and waste rock. The venture is predicted to make use of a mixture of standard and automatic gear, related to what’s presently used on the firm’s mines within the area. Manufacturing from underground, by way of ramp and shaft, might start as early as 2030 and ramp-up to a median charge of roughly 4,500 t/d in 2035.

The plant is anticipated to make use of a standard milling course of, together with a gravity circuit and a copper flotation circuit, with a design capability of 5,000 t/d, a median whole gold restoration of 95% and a median copper restoration of 81%.

Tailings will partly be returned underground as paste fill, with the rest being disposed on a dry stack tailings storage facility.

An settlement with native indigenous communities and environmental permits are in place for the superior exploration section of the venture, together with for the event of an exploration ramp and an exploration shaft and the gathering of two bulk samples. Negotiations with indigenous communities are ongoing to ascertain an settlement for the manufacturing section if a growth resolution is made. The corporate can be advancing environmental impression assessments required for the Federal and Provincial approvals and permits that shall be required for the development and manufacturing phases following a growth resolution.