Agnico Eagle touts increased production, northern exploration at Timmins conference

In one of the company’s first public addresses since merging with Kirkland Lake Gold in February, Andre Leite, Agnico Eagle’s Ontario vice-president, said he sees growth potential in northeastern Ontario.

In one of the company’s first public addresses since merging with Kirkland Lake Gold in February, Andre Leite, Agnico Eagle’s Ontario vice-president, said he sees growth potential in northeastern Ontario.

That’s what he told local stakeholders at the Timmins chamber’s State of Mining conference Wednesday afternoon, saying there’s potential to dramatically boost output at Canada’s largest gold mine: the Detour lake open pit.

Now the third-largest gold miner in the world, currently producing more than 20 tons a year, Leite said they can increase production to more than 30 tons by developing an underground mine at the site.

“It’s still early stages,” Leite said in an interview.

“We’re still working towards the more detailed analysis of what that will look like, what type of mine rates and the technical details, but we do see the potential.“

In his presentation, Leite highlighted more than $1 billion spent on goods and services, most of which stayed within the region, as well as $115 million invested in mining exploration.

One of its newer projects is the Upper Beaver gold mine near Kirkland Lake, expected to begin production in 10 years and generate just under eight tons of gold per year.