Mr. Sean Boyd reports
MID-YEAR 2014 EXPLORATION UPDATE: IVR DISCOVERY NEAR MEADOWBANK CONTINUES TO EXPAND; TECHNICAL STUDIES PROGRESS AT MELIADINE AND AKASABA WEST PROJECTS; AND NEW DEEP INTERSECTION AT KITTILA
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. is providing an update on
its 2014 exploration activities.
Highlights include:
- Expansion of IVR discovery in Nunavut -- Exploration drilling has expanded the scope of the mineralization at
the IVR property, located 50 kilometres northwest of the Meadowbank
mine. A total of 48 drill holes (7,423 metres) have been completed
since the program began in 2013. The best intercepts to date include
26.1 grams per tonne gold (capped) over 4.8 metres and 27.6
g/t gold (capped) over three metres estimated true width. A second phase
of drilling (anticipated 20,000 metres) has recently commenced.
- Recent drilling at Meliadine expected to further expand the resource
base -- In the first half of 2014, 118 exploration and conversion drill holes
totalling 30,900 metres were completed. The exploration ramp has been
extended by 527 metres. Recent results are expected to expand gold
resources at the Pump, Wesmeg/Normeg and Wolf deposits. Meliadine has
the company's largest and fastest-growing high-grade complement of
reserves plus resources. An updated technical study is expected in late
2014 or early 2015.
- Resource conversion drilling completed at Akasaba West -- Year to date, 28 drill holes totalling 5,327 metres have been
completed. Significant results include 1.14 g/t gold and 0.56 per cent copper
(capped) over 91 metres. A technical study is evaluating the economics
of mining the deposit (which is located less than 30 kilometres from Goldex)
and milling the ore at Agnico Eagle's Abitibi processing facilities.
- Kittila drilling extends Suuri zone at depth -- A drill hole grading 6.8 g/t gold (uncapped) over 6.4 metres estimated true width
indicates that the Suuri zone remains open at depth below 1,340
metres. Current reserves extend to approximately 1,100 metres depth.
This deeper mineralization will be considered in future expansion
studies.
"Although it is still early days, the new IVR discovery and the deep
drill hole at Kittila could represent exciting new developments for our
northern business platform," said Sean Boyd, president and chief
executive officer. "We are highly encouraged by the results at both
projects, and we will be working hard to evaluate the upside potential
of these discoveries and determine what potential impact they may have
on our current operations."
IVR project -- 2014 drilling expands new mineralized zones
Exploration drilling in 2013 and 2014 on the IVR property, which is
located approximately 50 kilometres northwest of the Meadowbank mine in
Nunavut, has resulted in the discovery of a number of mineralized
zones.
The 408-square-kilometre IVR property is located within Inuit-owned land
and 100-per-cent interest was acquired in April, 2013, subject to a mineral
exploration agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. The company ran a
program to evaluate the property's gold potential from July to October,
2013, that included ground geophysics (magnetic-electromagnetic), prospecting, mapping and
two campaigns of diamond drilling. Fourteen drill holes were completed
in 2013 and another 34 drill holes were drilled in the first half of
2014. These two campaigns represent a total of 7,423 metres of
drilling.
Agnico Eagle's work has revealed multiple northeast-trending structures
with gold-bearing sulphide-rich lenses of mineralization within
volcano-sedimentary rocks. Three mineralized corridors were recognized
over 400 metres of strike length in 2013. A first phase of shallow
drilling (to 100 metres depth) in 2014 has extended the known
mineralized corridors and added a fourth one to the south. Based on the
current information, all structures are open in all directions
including at depth.
The highest-grade results to date at IVR are from two holes at the R
zone: IVR14-031 with 26.1 g/t gold over 4.8 metres at 89 metres depth,
and hole IVR14-028 with 27.6 g/t gold over three metres at 58 metres
depth. Along the same R zone structure to the southwest are two more
intersections: hole IVR13-004 with 6.2 g/t gold over 5.7 metres at 28
metres depth, and hole IVR13-008 with 6.6 g/t gold over 7.2 metres at
72 metres depth and 9.8 g/t gold over 3.5 metres at 92 metres depth.
On the separate Whale Tail structure to the southeast is hole IVR14-015
grading 10.5 g/t gold over 3.5 metres at 43 metres depth. Hole
IVR14-044 intersected the I zone structure to the north, grading 8.7
g/t gold over 5.8 metres at 15 metres below surface. Hole IVR14-039
includes an intercept in the V zone of 3.7 g/t gold over 7.4 metres at
23 metres depth. All intercepts reported for the IVR project show
capped grades over estimated true widths, based on a preliminary
geological interpretation.
Additional information about these and other drill intersections is
included in the table.
RESULTS FROM IVR PROJECT EXPLORATION DRILLING IN 2013 AND 2014
Drill hole From To Estimated true width Uncapped Au grade Capped Au grade**
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t)
IVR13-004* 35.4 42.3 5.7 6.20 6.20
and 47.5 52.5 4.1 6.05 6.05
IVR13-008* 95.5 104.2 7.2 6.55 6.55
and 124.5 128.7 3.5 9.77 9.77
IVR14-015 60.0 63.6 3.5 22.85 10.52
IVR14-017 88.0 103.0 14.5 1.83 1.83
including 91.0 96.0 4.8 2.72 2.72
IVR14-028 74.9 78.2 3.0 34.36 27.62
IVR14-031 15.0 18.0 2.9 10.90 10.90
and 120.0 125.0 4.8 54.40 26.13
IVR14-037 96.2 108.5 10.8 2.81 2.81
including 101.5 104.7 2.8 5.83 5.83
IVR14-039 27.0 36.3 7.4 3.70 3.70
IVR14-044 17.0 23.0 5.8 8.70 8.70
* IVR13 denotes a hole drilled in 2013.
** Holes at IVR use a capping factor of 60 g/t gold.
A second phase of drilling (approximately 20,000 metres) has recently
commenced. Further ground has been acquired through staking,
increasing the land position by another 6,279 hectares.
A recent airborne VTEMplus time-domain electromagnetic survey covering
approximately 10,000 hectares detected a strong
magnetic-electromagnetic anomaly stretching over at least seven kilometres
including the current exploration drilling area. Prospecting and
sampling programs have been initiated over the entire area, focusing on
targets outlined by the geophysical survey. In the past week,
prospecting has defined a 600-metre-long glacial boulder field, 3.5
kilometres west of the mineralized zones where drilling is currently
taking place. The boulders, some of which show visible gold, could have
been sourced from the south, within the strong magnetic-EM anomaly. Drilling
is planned to investigate this new sector using a third drill rig.
Greyhound -- an early-stage project, close to Meadowbank infrastructure
In June, 2014, Agnico Eagle optioned a new property called Greyhound from
Aura Silver Resources Inc. straddling the road that connects
the Meadowbank mine in Nunavut with the community of Baker Lake, about
35 kilometres south of the mine. Under the terms of the option
agreement, Agnico Eagle can acquire an initial 51-per-cent interest by making
cash payments totaling $250,000 and completing $1.75-million in
exploration expenditures before May 31, 2017, with an option to
increase its interest to 70 per cent by making additional cash payments
totalling $250,000 and completing an additional $5.0-million in
exploration expenditures.
The property is underlain by Archean supracrustal rocks of the Woodburn
Lake group. Previous exploration has outlined gold, silver and base
metal mineralization in an area known as Aura Lake. In July, a program
consisting of 1,000 metres of drilling commenced to test three
promising target areas on the property.
Meliadine -- 2014 drilling converts and extends known deposits
Underground development, exploration, technical studies and permitting
have continued in the second quarter of 2014 at the 100-per-cent-owned
Meliadine project near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. The Meliadine project has
the company's largest and fastest-growing high-grade complement of
reserves plus resources. Probable reserves total 2.8 million ounces of
gold (12.0 million tonnes at a grade of 7.4 g/t), while indicated
resources are 3.1 million ounces of gold (19.0 million tonnes at 5.1
g/t) and inferred resources are 2.7 million ounces of gold (11.7
million tonnes at 7.2 g/t). For additional information see the detailed
mineral reserve and resource data in the company's Feb. 12, 2014,
news release.
Development of the exploration ramp has continued, adding 301 metres in length in the second quarter of 2014, for a total of 527 metres of ramp
constructed in 2014 to a depth of 168 metres below surface. The
full year budget is 1,440 metres of ramp development (to a depth of 225
metres below surface). Construction of the ventilation raise collar on
surface has been completed; excavation of the level 135 to surface
ventilation raise using the Alimak has started, with 63 metres
completed in the quarter.
Three drill rigs have been active on the surface drill program, which
began in late February. To the end of June, the rigs completed 118
holes (30,900 metres) of conversion drilling (Wesmeg/Normeg and
Tiriganiaq zones) and exploration drilling (Pump, Discovery, Wolf
zones). The drilling program for this year is expected to be completed
by the end of July. These results will be incorporated into a new
mineral reserve and resource estimate, which will be used in the
updated technical report.
The conversion drilling has confirmed the grade and width of the
near-surface portion of the Wesmeg/Normeg deposits. Some of the best
recent intercepts are shown in the table, including hole M14-2226
with 12.5 g/t gold (capped) over 5.3 metres (estimated true width) at
50 metres depth.
RESULTS FROM MELIADINE PROJECT WESMEG/NORMEG CONVERSION DRILLING IN 2014
Drill hole From To Estimated true width Uncapped Au grade Capped Au grade*
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t)
M14-2226 65.3 70.7 5.3 12.51 12.51
M14-2249 67.5 70.7 3.1 8.69 6.16
and 197.8 204.8 7.0 7.70 7.70
M14-2269 236.2 242.4 5.8 11.10 10.07
* Capping at Wesmeg and Normeg ranges from 15 g/t to 60 g/t gold.
Significant new gold mineralization was discovered in the Pump zone,
showing its potential to host additional high-grade resources,
including hole M14-2220 that yielded 19.8 g/t gold (capped) over 5.2
metres (estimated true width) at 12 metres depth. A resumption of
exploration at the Wolf deposit yielded positive results including an
11.0-metre-long intercept (estimated true width) grading 8.4 g/t gold
(capped) at 228 metres depth (hole M14-2292). The best intercepts from
these two deposits are shown in the table.
RESULTS FROM MELIADINE PROJECT PUMP AND WOLF EXPLORATION DRILLING IN 2014
Drill hole From To Estimated true width Uncapped Au grade Capped Au grade
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t)
M14-2220 11.1 17.0 5.2 22.39 19.77*
and 20.0 25.5 5.0 8.29 8.29
M14-2229 60.0 65.7 5.4 25.26 18.91**
M14-2244 476.9 480.0 3.1 11.51 11.51
M14-2268 351.0 355.6 4.0 5.90 5.90
M14-2287 215.5 220.4 4.2 6.12 6.12
M14-2292 278.6 298.3 16.6 6.99 6.52***
including 280.0 293.0 11.0 9.13 8.42***
M14-2305 314.8 318.9 3.9 9.50 9.50
* Capped at 30 g/t gold.
** Capped at 40 g/t gold.
*** Capped at 50 g/t gold.
The permitting team has delivered the final environmental impact
statement (FEIS) and the technical review is currently in progress.
Work continues on the updated technical report, with completion of the
study expected in late 2014 or early 2015.
Akasaba West -- could provide future mill feed to Agnico's Abitibi
facilities
In January, 2014, Agnico Eagle acquired the Akasaba West gold-copper
deposit from Alexandria Minerals for $5.0-million and a 2-per-cent
net-smelter-return royalty on any gold production exceeding 210,000 ounces. Located
less than 30 kilometres from Agnico Eagle's Goldex mine in Val d'Or,
Que., the Akasaba West deposit could potentially create flexibility
and synergies for the company's operations in the Abitibi region by
utilizing extra processing capacity at both the Goldex and LaRonde
mines, while improving the cost profile.
In the first half of 2014, a resource conversion drill program of 28
holes totalling 5,327 m was completed. Some of the better results
include hole 164-13-001 with 1.14 g/t gold and 0.56 per cent copper over 91
metres at 98 metres depth, and hole 164-14-019 with 1.13 g/t gold and
0.66 per cent copper over 78 metres at almost 200 metres depth (all grades are
capped; widths are estimated true widths). Additional information
about these and other drill intersections is included in the table.
These results will be incorporated into a technical study that is
expected to be completed by year-end 2014.
RESULTS FROM AKASABA WEST PROJECT CONVERSION DRILLING
Drill hole From To Est. true width Uncapped Au grade Capped Au grade* Uncapped Cu grade Capped Cu grade**
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%)
164-13-001 74 180 91 1.14 1.14 0.56 0.56
164-14-009 21 78.8 45 1.27 1.27 0.63 0.63
164-14-014 82 187 70 0.84 0.84 0.50 0.50
164-14-017 45 129 66 1.41 1.41 0.59 0.59
164-14-019 213 311.5 78 1.13 1.13 0.66 0.66
164-14-022 166 262 81 0.84 0.84 0.48 0.48
* All Akasaba West gold grades are capped at 15 g/t gold.
** All Akasaba West copper grades are capped at 10 per cent copper.
Kittila -- drilling extends Suuri mineralized trend at depth
Mine site exploration drilling at Agnico Eagle's Kittila mine, located
in Finland, in the first half of 2014 has totalled 3,000 metres of a
total year budget of 7,000 metres. The target is levels 1000 to 1500,
where the Suuri trend plunges northward beneath the Roura pit, below
the current reserves.
During the second quarter, hole ROD14-002C (drilled from the exploration
ramp) returned one of the deepest intersections to date, encountering
6.8 g/t gold (uncapped) over 6.4 metres (estimated true width)
including 12.0 g/t gold over 2.2 metres at 1,340 metres depth. This
intersection is approximately 250 metres below the bottom of the
current reserves, demonstrating a continuation of the Suuri
mineralization trend to depth. Additional information about this drill
intersection is included in the table.
The deep drilling program will be accelerated with the aim of completing
several additional holes before the end of 2014. The objective is to
increase the resource below the 1,100 m level. The two other deposits
(Roura and Rimpi) will be drilled from the ramp once access is
available next year. Roura and Rimpi are open at depth, and drilling
from the ramp is expected to further extend these zones.
RECENT RESULT FROM KITTILA PROJECT DEEP EXPLORATION DRILLING
Drill hole From To Estimated true width Uncapped Au grade
(m) (m) (m) (g/t)
ROU14-002C 684.6 697.5 6.4 6.81
including 684.6 689.0 2.2 12.01
* All grades are uncapped at Kittila.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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