Agnico Eagle Mines chief executive Ammar Al-Joundi outlined plans to increase gold production by up to 1 Mozpa within a decade as the company bolsters its presence in areas where it has built a ‘knowledge advantage'.
"While our production guidance for 2025-2027 remains stable at peer-leading costs, we continue to advance five projects that will drive future growth and potentially add between 0.5 Moz and 1.0 Moz per annum of gold to our current production profile in the next decade," the CEO told Mining IQ in an interview for the Leadership Insights 2025 report, on the theme of unlocking growth.
The bulk of these growth opportunities are in Canada. Agnico's vision is to establish its Detour Lake and Canadian Malartic mines as 1 Mozpa operations, Al-Joundi said, compared to about 700,000 ozpa and 600,000 ozpa, respectively, today.
In addition, the Upper Beaver asset in Ontario could deliver 200,000 ozpa gold in 2030/2031, while a redevelopment of Hope Bay in Nunavut could add around 400,000 ozpa in the 2030s.
Agnico Eagle also has a 50% stake in the San Nicolás primary copper project in Mexico, which could add around 200,000 ozpa on a gold equivalent basis. The CEO said work on a feasibility study is advancing under a joint venture with Teck Resources.
"These are projects we already own, where we can use our expertise and, in many cases, existing infrastructure. It's lower-risk growth and profitable production, leveraging our strengths and competitive advantages," Al-Joundi said.
Knowledge advantage
The projects reflect Agnico's strategy of establishing a ‘knowledge advantage' in low-risk regions with potential for long-term operations. This approach helps to address what the CEO sees as the biggest threats to growth, volatility and uncertainty.
"Commodity prices swing – sometimes wildly – with geopolitics, supply chain disruptions, and economic conditions. Volatile markets demand discipline, agility and flexibility to build uncertainty into your business, financial planning and decision-making," Al-Joundi said.
"Part of being disciplined is to do your homework before committing millions or billions of dollars. Agnico Eagle's approach, focusing on politically stable regions with multi-decade geologic potential, provides us with a knowledge advantage."
Over the past 20 years, Agnico has grown from a single-asset company to one of the biggest gold producers. The company last month reiterated 2025 guidance of 3.3-3.5Moz gold at all-in sustaining costs of US$1250-1300/oz.
The full Leadership Insights 2025 report, featuring 17 interviews with executives of larger mining companies plus findings of an industrywide survey on the growth theme, is available for sale here (free for Premium subscribers).
To read the full interview with Ammar Al-Joundi, click here.
