Positive Exploration Results Encountered at Multiple Projects: Amaruq Drilling Continues to Extend Known Zones and Discover New Occurrences; Extension of Near-MINE Mineralization at LA India; Strike
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Stock Symbol: AEM (NYSE and TSX)
For further information: Investor Relations
(416) 947-1212
(All amounts expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted)
POSITIVE EXPLORATION RESULTS ENCOUNTERED AT MULTIPLE PROJECTS:
AMARUQ DRILLING CONTINUES TO EXTEND KNOWN ZONES AND DISCOVER NEW
OCCURRENCES; EXTENSION OF NEAR-MINE MINERALIZATION AT LA INDIA; STRIKE
LENGTH OF KNOWN MINERALIZED ZONES INCREASED AT EL BARQUENO AND
BARSELE
Toronto (September 5, 2017) – Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM, TSX:AEM)
("Agnico Eagle" or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on its recent 2017
exploration activities at the Amaruq project in Nunavut, the Barsele project in Sweden
and the La India Mine and El Barqueno project in Mexico. Highlights include:
Drilling at Amaruq traces gold beneath current Whale Tail and V Zone mineral
resources – AMQ17-1418 intersects a strongly mineralized quartz vein that returned
8.6 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold over 38.7 metres at 273 metres depth extending the
V Zone to the east of the proposed pit
New Tugak structure identified 4.5 k ilometres west of Whale Tail at Amaruq –
Initial drill results include 2.5 g/t gold over 10.0 metres near surface. Follow up drilling
is planned
At the Barsele project, drilling infills area between Central and Avan zones –
High-grade interval in Central Zone intersects 5.4 g/t gold over 11.5 metres at 275
metres depth
La India drilling extend s near-pit mineralizat ion and other near -mine targets ,
mineral reserves and mineral resources expected to increase at year-end 2017 –
Drilling at El Realito intersects 9.5 g/t gold and 36 g/t silver over 7.3 metres at 92
metres de pth, while drilling at La Chipriona intersects 1.4 g/t gold and 6 7 g/t silver
over 40.3 metres near surface. Both of these zones are outside of the current mine
plan
At El Barqueno, drilling extends strike length of Azteca-Zapateco zones by over
1,000 metres to west onto Cuauhtémoc zone – Recent results in far west include
6.3 g/t gold and 45 g/t silver over 5.7 metres at 201 metres depth
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“Our solid operational performance has generated strong cash flow, which has allowed
us to maintain a robust exploration budget both at our mine sites and at our
exploration/development projects in 2017. As a result, we continue to make new
discoveries and extend the mineralization at multiple projects ,” said Sean Boyd, Chief
Executive Officer of Agnico Eagle. “We believe that there is good potential to expand
and upgrade the mineral resources and mineral reserves at many of our key projects by
year-end 2017”, added Mr. Boyd.
Amaruq Satellite Deposit – V Zone Expands at Depth and to West; Whale Tail Ore
Shoot Extended, Directional Drill Program Reaching Below Current Mineral
Resources; New Tugak Showing Discovered 4.5 Kilometres West of Planned Whale
Tail Pit; I Zone Confirmed by New Drilling
Agnico Ea gle has a 100% interest in the Amaruq satellite deposit, approximately 50
kilometres northwest of the Meadowbank mine. Amaruq is situated on a 116,717-hectare
property, near the 77,411 -hectare Meadowbank property. A significant gold discovery
was made on the Amaruq property in 2013, and activities since that time have focused
on the development of satellite mineralization to feed the existing 11,000 tonne per day
Meadowbank mill.
At December 31, 2016, the Amaruq property contained an open pit indicated m ineral
resource of 2.1 million ounces of gold (16.9 million tonnes grading 3.88 g/t gold); an open
pit inferred mineral resource of 763,000 ounces gold (4.9 million tonnes grading 4.81 g/t
gold); and an underground inferred mineral resource of 1.4 million ounces gold (6.8
million tonnes grading 6.22 g/t gold).
In February 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the development of the
Amaruq property pending the receipt of the required permits.
The first phase of a planned $22 million, 75,000 metre drill program commenced in early
February 2017 and, to the end of July, 352 holes (65,600 metres) were drilled. The infill
drill program at IVR and Whale Tail were completed in late May. Since then, drilling has
focused on extension of the V Zone to the east, west and at depth and extension of the
Whale Tail deposit at depth . Additionally, drilling continues on multiple regional targets
north and west of Mammoth Lake, such as the new Tugak showing , which is more than
four kilometres west of the current mineral resources . Exploration results continue to
expand the mineralization below the planned Whale Tail and proposed V Zone open pits,
with continued success at depth in both deposit areas. The I Zone, which was
discovered in 2013, has been intersected in several recent holes north of the V Zone,
demonstrating continuity with previous drill intercepts.
The second phase of the 2017 Amaruq drill program has already commenced . It is
targeting extensions of the Whale Tail deposit and V Zone and testing the continuity of
the new Tugak structure.
Recent intercepts from the project are set out in the table below and the drill hole collars
are located on the Amaruq project local geology map. The pierce points are shown on
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the Amaruq project composite longitudinal section. All intercepts reported for the Amaruq
project show uncapped and capped grades over estimated true widths, based on a
preliminary geological interpretation that is being updated as new information becomes
available with further drilling.
Recent exploration drill results from the Whale Tail (WT) deposit, the I and V Zones
and the Tugak showing, Amaruq project
Drill hole Zone From
(metres)
To
(metres)
Depth of
midpoint
below
surface
(metres)
Estimated
true width
(metres)
Gold grade
(g/t)
(uncapped)
Gold grade
(g/t)
(capped)*
AMQ17-1345 WT 275.0 312.6 257 35.3 6.9 6.9
AMQ17-1355 V Zone 395.3 399.1 349 3.8 5.2 5.2
and V Zone 503.8 507.2 442 2.9 11.3 11.3
AMQ17-1366 WT 379.7 428.1 340 24.2 7.6 7.6
including 419.3 428.0 357 4.4 17.7 17.5
AMQ17-1397 V Zone 103.0 109.1 76 5.3 4.8 4.8
AMQ17-1418 V Zone 327.8 372.5 273 38.7 40.0 8.6
including 327.8 332.2 257 4.1 70.7 8.1
including 339.0 342.3 265 2.9 174.5 11.4
including 351.8 355.0 275 2.8 81.6 23.1
including 361.7 372.5 286 8.8 58.9 21.4
AMQ17-1426 V Zone 78.0 83.0 77 3.5 24.8 24.8
and V Zone 170.5 177.0 168 5.0 7.4 7.4
AMQ17-1433D WT 702.5 710.8 596 4.8 6.4 6.4
and WT 728.1 757.0 624 16.6 3.9 3.9
including 730.5 736.5 617 3.4 7.2 7.2
including 744.0 749.2 627 3.0 6.1 6.1
AMQ17-1437 V Zone 50.0 53.5 40 2.8 8.0 8.0
AMQ17-1447 Tugak 318.7 324.0 259 2.8 3.0 3.0
AMQ17-1455 I Zone 142.3 154.0 139 8.3 4.9 4.9
AMQ17-1457 I Zone 174.0 185.1 166 7.8 3.9 3.9
AMQ17-1469 Tugak 10.7 26.3 14 10.0 2.5 2.5
including 10.7 17.7 11 4.5 3.9 3.9
AMQ17-1475 V Zone 647.2 657.5 610 9.0 8.5 8.5
AMQ17-1477 Tugak 117.0 121.0 100 3.6 3.3 3.3
* Holes at the Whale Tail deposit use a capping factor of 80 g/t gold. Holes at the IVR deposit
(including the I and V Zone s) use a capping factor of 60 g/t gold. Gold values from the Tugak
showing are not capped.
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[Amaruq Project Local Geology Map]
[Amaruq Project Composite Longitudinal Section]
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V Zone
The V Zone consists of a series of parallel stacked quartz vein structures striking
northeast and dipping shallowly to the southeast from near surface. Recent drill results
have increased the depth an additional 70 metres to 610 metres below surface local ly.
The V Zone remains open at depth.
East of t he p roposed V Zone pit are a few significant new drill holes that intersected
mineralization outside and below the pit outline. Immediately east of the planned pit
outline, hole AMQ17 -1418 intersected mineralization over several closely spaced
intervals; the hole intersected 8.6 g/t gold over 38.7 metres at 273 metres depth ,
including a strongly mineralized quartz vein that intersected 21.4 g/t gold over 8.8 metres
at 286 metres depth. Approximately 200 metres southeast of this, hole AMQ17 -1475 cut
the deepest drill intercept in the V Zone to date, intersecting 8.5 g/t gold over 9.0 metres
at 610 metres depth. The latter intercept represents a down -dip advance of 170 metres
to the southeast (and a 70 metre descent in vertical depth) in the lowest known
mineralized V Zone structure.
Located 120 metres northwest of the proposed V Zone pit outline, hole AMQ17 -1455
intersected the I Zone on strike and 70 metres west of previous intersections, with results
of 4.9 g/t gold over 8.3 metres at 139 metres depth. Approximately 170 metres to the
northeast, hole AMQ17-1457 intersected the same type of mineralization returning 3.9 g/t
gold over 7.8 metres at 166 metres depth. Very limited drilling has been completed in
this area. The I Zone remains open to the west.
Drilling continued to trace a western extension of the V Zone, up to 300 metres west of
the proposed V Zone pit outline. Hole AMQ17 -1426 encountered two distinct gold
intervals, returning 24.8 g/t gold over 3.5 metres at 77 metres depth and 7.4 g/t gold over
5.0 metres at 168 metres depth. The V Zone structures remain open to the w est and at
depth. Another 500 metres farther west from hole AMQ17-1426 in an area not previously
drilled, hole AMQ17-1437 reported 8.0 g/t gold over 2.8 metres at 40 metres depth. The
relationship of this intercept to the V Zone will be investigated further.
Whale Tail
Conversion drilling completed in June has confirmed the robustness of the mineralization
within the main ore -shoot in the Whale Tail deposit. For example, hole AMQ17 -1366
intersected 7.6 g/t gold over 24.2 metres at 340 metres depth. The second phase drill
program this year will target a deep extension of the higher grade ore shoot.
A directional drilling program is underway to determine if the favourable geological units
hosting the gold mineralization continue at depth below the Whale Tail deposit, with
branches being drilled from two “mother holes” so far, to reach specific depths in search
of favourable host rocks. Hole AMQ17 -1433D is a branch that was drilled to
approximately 680 metres depth; preliminary results show multiple intercepts such as 6.4
g/t gold over 4.8 metres at 596 metres depth and 7.2 g/t gold over 3.4 metres at 617
metres depth.
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To date, the Whale Tail deposit has been defined over at least 2.3 kilometres of strike
length and extends from surface to 732 metres depth; it remains open at depth and along
strike.
Tugak showing
Exploration drilling west of Mammoth Lake has encountered what the Company
interprets to be a favourable mineralization host, with sedimentary rocks enclosed
between two layers of ultramafics, geologically similar to the main mineralization at the
Whale Tail deposit. Located approximately 4.5 kilometres west of the western limit of the
planned Whale Tail pit outline, the newly discovered “Tugak showing” is re turning
encouraging results. Hole AMQ17-1469 intersected 2.5 g/t gold over 10.0 metres near
surface, including 3.9 g/t gold over 4.5 metres. Approximately 300 metres to the
northwest, hole AMQ17 -1477 intersected 3. 3 g/t gold over 3.6 metres at 100 metres
depth. The Tugak showing requires more investigation to determine its shape and
extent, and its relationship to Whale Tail and the IVR deposits.
Future Activities
Additional drill results are expected during the second phase of the 2017 program.
Regional exploration will continue using two drill rigs in the Mammoth Lake area. Other
areas of interest closer to the mineral resources will be probed using four drill rigs,
including near -surface exploration west of the IVR deposit and investigating th e deep
portions of V Zone and Whale Tail.
Approximately $78 million is being spent on capital costs at Amaruq in 2017, primarily on
the recently completed all-weather exploration road, additional technical studies and the
procurement of materials and equipment.
On August 20 , 2017, the 64 -kilometre-long exploration road from Meadowbank had
reached the Amaruq camp on budget and half a month ahead of schedule. Development
of the Amaruq exploration ramp has been permitted and planning is underway;
construction of the ramp is planned to begin in early 2018.
On June 15, 2017, the Company and the Kivalliq Inuit Association signed an Inuit Impact
and Benefit Agreement ("IIBA") for the Whale Tail Project. The Whale Tail IIBA
addresses protection of Inu it values, culture and language and provides for enhanced
access by Inuit to employment, training and business opportunities. The IIBA contains
implementation and monitoring measures that will ensure these goals are achieved.
Agnico Eagle is working clos ely with the Nunavut Impact Review Board (“NIRB”) and the
Nunavut Water Board (“NWB”) on the Whale Tail joint permitting process. NIRB/NWB
has coordinated the technical review, which is underway; technical meetings and a
prehearing conference were held in Baker Lake from April 27 to May 2. The final public
hearing is scheduled to take place in September 2017 ; the permitting team is working
with the federal and territo rial authorities to resolve remaining issues prior to this final
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public hearing. The Whale Tail pit permitting is on schedule and permits are expected by
the third quarter of 2018.
The Company expects a conventional open pit mining operation to begin on the Whale
Tail deposit in the third quarter of 2019. Other satellite deposits, such as the V Zone, are
being evaluated and considered for future development and will require additional
permitting. The planned Whale Tail pit currently extends to a depth of approximately 250
metres and is open for expansion.
For additional details on the project see the Company’s news release s dated February
15, 2017 and July 26, 2017.
Barsele Project – 400-metre Extension of Mineralized System
On June 11, 2015, Agnico Eagle acquired a 55% interest in the Barsele project in
Sweden. The Company can earn an additional 15% interest in the project through the
completion of a pre -feasibility study. The Company is the operator of the project. The
Barsele property is known to contain intrusive -hosted gold mineralization (the Cen tral,
Avan and Skiråsen zones). The property also hosts gold -rich polymetallic volcanogenic
massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization (the Norra Zone). The Central, Avan and
Skiråsen zones are now interpreted to be part of the same mineralized system extendi ng
approximately 3.0 kilometres of strike length.
In 2016, Agnico Eagle completed an initial mineral resource estimate for the Barsele
project that outlined total inferred mineral resources (on a 100% basis) of 1.2 million
ounces (21.7 million tonnes grad ing 1.72 g/t gold). Drilling results for Barsele were last
reported in the Company’s news release dated October 26, 2016.
Drilling at Barsele from January through July 2017 totaled 28,511 metres in 56 holes.
Recent intercepts from this program are set out in the table below; drill hole collar
coordinates are set out in a table in the Appendix of this news release and the collars are
located on the Barsele Project Regional Geology Map. All intercepts reported for the
Barsele project show capped gold grades over estimated true widths, based on a
preliminary geological interpretation that is being updated as new information becomes
available with further drilling.
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Recent exploration and confirmation drill results from the Barsele project
Drill hole Location From
(metres)
To
(metres)
Depth of
midpoint
below
surface
(metres)
Estimated
true width
(metres)
Gold grade
(g/t)
(uncapped)
Gold
grade (g/t)
(capped)*
AVA16-022 Avan 66.8 109.0 65 30.0 2.03 2.03
including** 91.5 94.0 65 2.0 2.87 2.87
AVA16-024 Avan 22.0 36.0 20 10.0 1.01 1.01
AVA17-001 Avan 223.0 237.0 205 6.6 5.11 5.11
AVA17-004*** Avan 69.0 72.0 50 2.0 5.46 5.46
AVA17-010 Avan 371.0 378.0 320 3.7 9.70 9.47
CNT16-011 Central 351.0 374.0 275 11.5 7.90 5.36
CNT16-032 Central 463.0 555.0 390 62.0 1.63 1.63
CNT17-006 Central 340.0 365.0 265 16.6 5.34 5.34
CNT17-012 Central 362.0 381.8 265 14.5 5.07 3.49
and Central 507.0 529.0 390 14.8 2.51 1.74
SKI16-002 Skiråsen 857.0 882.0 695 13.0 2.15 2.15
SKI16-015 Skiråsen 362.0 369.0 290 3.7 3.65 3.65
and Skiråsen 383.0 414.0 315 16.5 2.29 2.29
SKI17-003 Skiråsen 517.0 567.0 445 29.7 3.10 1.75
including 555.0 567.0 460 7.2 5.36 4.65
* Holes at Barsele use a capping factor of 20 g/t gold.
** Hole AVA16-022 intersected a polymetallic vein grading 2.87 g/t gold, 286.4 g/t silver, 2.67% lead and 0.62%
zinc over 2.0 metres estimated true width at 65 metres below surface.
*** Hole AVA17-004 intersected a polymetallic zone grading 5.46 g/t gold, 384.5 g/t silver, 1.93% lead and 2.39%
zinc over 2.0 metres estimated true width at 50 metres below surface.