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Canada

Meadowbank Complex

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit & Underground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Longhole open stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
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Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Meadowbank Complex refers to the processing facilities and infrastructure at the Meadowbank mine, combined with the mining and infrastructure at the Amaruq mine site.

The Meadowbank gold mine achieved commercial production in March 2010. The final year of production at the Meadowbank mine was 2019, with mining operations at the Complex gradually transitioning to Amaruq, which today provides the sole source of mill feed. The Company declared commercial production at the Whale Tail pit at Amaruq mine on September 30, 2019.

The Agnico Eagle extended Amaruq's mine life to 2028 (previous mine life was to 2026), adding approximately 500,000 ounces of gold to the expected mining profile, as a result of continuous improvement and cost optimization efforts, positive infill drilling and positive reconciliation to the geological model.
Related Asset

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. 100 % Direct
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd directly owns 100% of the Meadowbank Complex.

Deposit type

  • Iron formation hosted
  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The Meadowbank property comprises a number of Archean-age gold deposits hosted within polydeformed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Woodburn Lake Group, part of the Western Churchill supergroup in northern Canada.

Three mineable gold deposits, Goose, Portage and Vault (all now mined out), have been discovered along the 25-kilometre long Meadowbank gold trend, and the PDF deposit (a fourth deposit) has been outlined on the northeast gold trend. These known gold resources were within 225 metres of the surface, making the deposits amenable to open pit mining. In addition, two mineable deposits have been discovered at the Amaruq satellite deposit, the Whale Tail and V Zone, which come together at depth northeast of Whale Tail Lake. Both extend from surface, making them amenable to open pit mining. A ramp is being driven between the two deposits and is currently 350 metres below surface, in the footwall of Whale Tail deposit.

The area of the Meadowbank mine gold deposits is underlain by a complex, polydeformed package of intermediate volcaniclastic rocks and wackes with subordinate, interlayered iron formation, pelitic and ultramafic schists, and quartzite. The deposits are located within a structurally complex area in a narrow neck of supracrustal rocks, sandwiched between granite plutons. There are two main deposit types: iron-formation-hosted gold and lode gold (disseminated/replacement style). The iron-formation-hosted deposits are represented by the Portage and Goose deposits, while the disseminated/replacement lode gold deposits are best represented by the Vault deposit.

The main mineralized occurrences at Amaruq are hosted within a northeast-trending sequence of mafic and ultramafic sub-volcanic to volcanic rocks interlayered with various combinations of fine-grained clastic rocks, chert, graphitic iron-rich mudstone and iron formation. They correspond to mesothermal-type lode-gold mineralization, including (but not restricted to) hybrid, stratiform and vein-type iron-formation-hosted gold deposits.

Mineralization
The Amaruq satellite deposit at Meadowbank is located 50 kilometres northwest of the Meadowbank mine. The Whale Tail deposit is a folded deposit with a defined strike of 2.3 kilometres from surface to a depth of 1,075 metres locally. The V Zone is a series of parallel stacked quartz vein structures dipping shallowly (30 degrees) near surface and more steeply (60 degrees) at depth, extending to 800 metres locally. Both deposits are open along strike and at depth. Three contrasting styles of mineralization coexist on the Amaruq property. In all three styles, gold is found associated with pyrrhotite and/or arsenopyrite as 25 to 50 micron inclusions or grains along fractures, or simply as free grains in a quartz rich gangue.

The first mineralization style corresponds to occurrences of pyrrhotite-quartz-amphibole-carbonate as layers, lenses and/or disseminations, mostly restricted to the silicate-sulphide iron formations of Whale Tail’s north domain. The second mineralization style comprises silica flooding with significant pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and local pyrite stockwork and disseminations, within a gangue of amphibole-carbonate. The third mineralization style is between decimetres and several metres thick, quartz-sulphide-native gold veins cutting through the whole Kangislulik-Whale Tail-V Zone rock sequence. These veins are best developed in the mafic and ultramafic volcanics, where they are hosted in biotite-altered and moderately-to-strongly schistose zones. The overall sulphide content of these veins is generally low (1-5% maximum) and most commonly comprises arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite, and/or chalcopyrite. These veins seem more abundant and best developed in the hinge zone of the regional fold and seem to be restricted to shallow southeast-dipping, high-strain corridors therein.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Gold oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe193,489248,997352,526312,214381,804
Silver koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe86171275221221
All production numbers are expressed as payable metal. ^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,750,306 t3,263,040 t3,853,034 t3,915,102 t4,032,851 t
Daily milling rate  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7,731 t8,937 t10,556 t10,697 t11,049 t
Daily milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe9,840 t9,840 t9,840 t9,840 t9,840 t
Annual milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe3.6 Mt3.6 Mt3.6 Mt3.6 Mt3.6 Mt
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20242023202220212020201920182017
Credits (by-product) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -9 / oz   -11 / oz   -14 / oz  
Cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe 628 / oz  
Total cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1,143 / oz   825 / oz  
Total cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1,152 / oz **   814 / oz **   614 / oz **  
^ Guidance / Forecast.
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency20232022202120202019201820172016
Total operating costs ($/t milled) CAD 179  157  143  148  103  85  76  74  

Financials

Units20242023202220212020201920182017
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ....  Subscribe
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 18.8   14.9   22.7  
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 193.7   14.9   111.5  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 221.7   323.1   449  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -23.5   28.6   150.5  

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
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EmployeesTotal WorkforceYear
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Aerial view:

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