Overview
| Stage | Permitting |
| Mine Type | Underground |
| Commodities |
|
| Mining Method |
- Longhole stoping
- Transverse stoping
- Longitudinal stoping
- Cemented backfill
- Backfill
- Paste backfill
|
| Mine Life | 9.7 years (as of Jan 1, 2021) |
The Wasamac project was acquired as part of Agnico Eagle’s purchase of Yamana Gold’s Canadian assets in March 2023.
The property contains three past producing gold mines: Wasamac, Francoeur and Arntfield.
Agnico Eagle believes Wasamac has the potential to be an underground bulk mining operation with production of up to 200,000 ounces of gold per year. The Company is reviewing technical aspects of the project with a focus on ore processing at the Canadian Malartic mill, which is expected to reduce the project footprint and capital cost. An internal evaluation of the project is expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. |
Source:
p. 1
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is pleased to announce the successful completion of the previously announced plan of arrangement pursuant to which Agnico Eagle has acquired certain subsidiaries and partnerships which hold Yamana Gold Inc.'s interests in its Canadian assets, including the Canadian Malartic mine. As part of the Arrangement, Pan American Silver Corp. has acquired all the issued and outstanding common shares of Yamana.
With the completion of the Arrangement, the Company now owns 100% of the Wasamac project.
Contractors
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Deposit Type
- Vein / narrow vein
- Hydrothermal
- Breccia pipe / Stockwork
- Replacement
Summary:
Deposit Type
Wasamac Deposit
The Wasamac deposit is an example of an Archean greenstone belt gold deposit hosted by the Francoeur-Wasa shear zone, a second-order brittle-ductile shear zone of the Cadillac–Larder Lake fault zone. Gold mineralization is constrained to the altered and sheared part of the Francoeur-Wasa shear zone. Regionally, the Wasamac deposit lies at the boundary between the orogenic gold district of Noranda and the dominantly intrusion-related gold systems of Kirkland Lake. The Wasamac deposit shares similar characteristics of both alkaline syenite intrusion-related gold deposits and orogenic gold deposits.
There are several examples of orogenic or intrusion-related deposits along the Cadillac–Larder Lake fault zone including: the Francoeur deposit (500 koz produced), Kirkland Lake deposits (21 Moz produced), Kerr-Addison (9.5 Moz produced), and Lapa (700 koz mineral resource) (Mériaud, 2015). One difference between Wasamac and these other deposits is that they all have mineralization related to veining, a characteristic that is missing at Wasamac, which exhibits disseminated mineralization only.
Francoeur and Arntfield Deposits
The Blake River Group rocks underlying the Francoeur and Arntfield gold deposits are intruded by diorite and gabbro masses. The Francoeur No. 3 deposit is the largest of a series of deposits located within the Francoeur-Wasa shear zone over a distance of more than 10 km. These deposits are, from west to east, the Cutting zone an ........
Mining Methods
- Longhole stoping
- Transverse stoping
- Longitudinal stoping
- Cemented backfill
- Backfill
- Paste backfill
Summary:
The Wasamac project will involve an underground operation with a proposed mining method optimized to the deposit geometry and employing a variety of long-hole (longitudinal and transverse) stoping. To access the deposit, two 3-km-long ramps will be developed: one for material handling and the second for personnel and equipment. The total projected underground development was optimized and has decreased compared to the 2018 Feasibility Study. The objective was to decrease both development costs and waste production by implementing three design improvements: increasing level spacing; reducing the requirement for footwall drifts in waste; and optimizing the material handling system to minimize ramp development requirements. The materials handling systems were improved by optimizing various haulage scenarios, available technologies, and combinations thereof.
Mining voids will be filled using a combination of paste fill (delivered from an underground paste fill plant), cemented rockfill (CRF), and rockfill, with the intention of increasing mining recovery, providing stable rock conditions, and minimizing the mine surface footprint and closure requirements. The surface impact of the underground mine will be minimized because of the mine’s proximity to the Rouyn-Noranda municipality. Minimal surface break-through of raises, minimal surface infrastructure, and low blasting vibration through the utilization of best blasting practices are considered important objectives.
Source:
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Flow Sheet:
Summary:
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Reserves at December 31, 2022:
A variable cut-off value from 1.52 g/t gold to 1.65 g/t gold. Mineral reserves consider average total mining dilution of 11% and average mining recovery of 93%.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Proven & Probable
|
26,835 kt
|
Gold
|
2.52 g/t
|
2,170 koz
|
|
Measured & Indicated
|
6,034 kt
|
Gold
|
1.75 g/t
|
339 koz
|
|
Inferred
|
7,086 kt
|
Gold
|
2 g/t
|
455 koz
|
Source:
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Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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