Canadian mining company Agnico Eagle Mines has announced plans to increase the production at its Detour Lake gold project in Ontario to 1 million ounces per year by mill optimization and expansion to underground operations.
The company published an updated resource assessment and a new mine life plan under which the annual gold output is projected to increase from 700,000 ounces currently to approximately 1 million ounces starting in 2030 over a 14-year period.
Under the new plan, the underground project provides earlier access to a high grade mineralization at depth and displaces lower grade open pit production to the end of mine life which was extended by two years to 2054 for a total payable gold production of 22 million ounces.
Development capital expenditures for the underground project and mill optimization are forecast to be approximately $731 million. Sustaining capital expenditures are forecast to be approximately $631 million, or $40 - $45 million per year from 2030 to 2043.
"At Detour Lake, the company continues to build on the unique potential of this world class asset. With the development of an underground mine to complement the existing open pit mine, we see the opportunity to transform the asset into one of the top five gold mines in the world by output,” said Ammar Al-Joundi, Agnico’s president and CEO.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
