The Canadian Malartic Complex is a gold mine situated in Malartic, Quebec, Canada. This area has been mined since the 1920s and the mine has produced 13.7 Moz since its conception. The deposit is situated on Abitibi Greenstone along the Larder Lake-Cadillac Fault, stretching from Larder Lake, Ontario to Val-d’Or, Quebec, an area known as the Timmins Val-d’Or Camp.
The Canadian Malartic Complex is composed of surface and underground deposits. Open pit operations currently feed the mill at a rate of 57,000 tpd to produce 600 koz to 700 koz per year. Towards the latter half of the 2020s, mill throughput reduces to 19,000 tpd as the operation transitions underground, producing 500 koz to 600 koz per year. Known as the Odyssey Project, this is expected to cost C$1.74B from 2021 to 2028, of which C$758M will be paid by pit operations. At a price of C$2,015/oz (US$1,550/oz), the Odyssey Project is expected to generate an after-tax undiscounted cash flow of C$3.46B and IRR 17.5% and after-tax NPV5% of C$1.49B. The Odyssey Project is envisaged as a highly productive, bulk underground operation. Using a Resource CoG between 1.00 g/t to 1.40 g/t, ore is planned for extraction as transverse longhole stopes 30 m to 50 m high, at a cost of C$59.95/t-milled to C$71.86/t-milled.
| Classification | Tonnes (‘000 t) | Grade (g/t) | Ounces (‘000 oz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserve O/P | 122,876 | 1.12 | 4,428 |
| Resource (M+I) O/P | 1,372 | 0.58 | 26 |
| Resource (M+I) U/G | 17,374 | 1.87 | 1,044 |
| Inferred U/G | 177,844 | 2.38 | 13,596 |
Current open pit Reserves should be exhausted by end of surface mine life, with little M+I Resource remaining for conversion. Based on the Odyssey LOM plan, 7.3 Moz is to be mined from the underground. Currently only 1 Moz is classified as M+I Resource, eligible for conversion as Reserve. A large proportion, 13.6 Moz, is classified as Inferred Resource. This will need to be upgraded to M+I in order to be eligible for conversion to Reserve. More drilling will be required to derisk the mine plan. A robust drill program is in place, successfully drilling 708,013 m since 2014. Other risks to the project include sustaining high underground throughput and keeping costs down in order to profitably mine low grade ore. Agnico Eagle has a proven track record of low cost, bulk underground mining, hence this risk is well managed. As an operating mine, mill recoveries and logistics are well established, hence risks are minimal in these areas. A further opportunity exists, where project value has been assessed using US$1,550/oz; this represents a conservative estimate of gold price and a likely upside exists in actual project value.
The information presented above does not constitute investment advice. This is a summary from the NI43-101 Technical Report effective Dec 31, 2020 (INSERT), with commentary from the author. Statements above do not represent the views of Agnico Eagle. If any discrepancies arise, the information contained within the NI43-101 are official and final. For latest depletion data, please refer to the AIF update.