Tag Archives: Agnico Eagle Mines

Riino zero-emission monorail haulage system receives mining company backing

Riino, a company incorporating technology influences from monorails, subway systems and the mechanised raise climber, is a step closer to bringing its zero-emission material movement concept to reality, having signed up three mining company backers for a technology scoping study, utilising a consortium approach, supported by the Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC).

Agnico Eagle Mines, Rio Tinto and Vale are now all part of a CMIC-backed consortium pushing the Riino project forward under CMIC’s Surface Mining Alternative Haulage project. In addition, Riino has also been successful in achieving funding as part of Canadian government backing through the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator Network.

Riino is an innovative monorail haulage system targeting the reduction of the industry’s carbon emissions and achieving net-zero goals, CMIC says. It is designed to receive its power from internal, train-mounted motors as well as auxiliary on-board batteries for a complete electric and automated operation.

The Riino concept originated out of President and CEO Aaron Lambert’s experience as a contract miner in Sudbury – a role that saw him interact and engage with many different technologies.

The standard 120-t (18% grade) or 400-t payload numbers used by Riino have been influenced by existing underground or open-pit mining profiles

Lambert has been working on Riino for several years, with the initial plan to produce a system that is both capex- and opex-efficient. The headline numbers associated with this are a targeted 50-80% reduction in haulage operating costs.

As time has gone by, the zero-emission element has created a further selling point for Riino, encouraging mining companies to consider its use alongside a host of other ‘green’ haulage alternatives to the standard diesel-powered truck and shovel fleet.

All three of the mining companies attached to the ongoing scoping study have been interrogating the data and designs Lambert and his team have assembled over recent months, and are now pledging financial resources to wrap some in-depth numbers and technical data around what it will take to build a prototype to a sufficient technology readiness level.

To this point, the power requirements for Riino have been based off existing specifications for both open-pit and underground mines. The standard 120-t (18% grade) or 400-t payload numbers have also been influenced by existing underground or open-pit mining profiles.

“We’ve had great early engagement from mining companies since we started the Riino project, and the latest backing from Agnico, Rio and Vale is tangible evidence of that,” Lambert told IM.

The three mining companies and Riino are currently engaged in this four-month study, which will be concluded by the end of this year. The idea is to then engage in another staged development process that could result in a full-scale prototype being built for testing at a location in Sudbury, owned by Rainbow Concrete Industries.

Trevor Kelly, Innovation Manager at CMIC, said: “We see the scoping study as a good opportunity for the industry to look at this solution. It offers a low-cost entry point and definitive outcome to enable companies to get involved initially, quickly. As with many other CMIC projects, we work with entrepreneurs and mining companies to find the ‘sweet spot’ between what money and resources are available, matching that to a relevant technology scope.

“As a result, it gives Riino and the mining companies a view on the potential of this technology and the possible paths forward.”

Gary Molloy, Innovation Manager at CMIC, added on the scoping study: “At this stage, it is all about building confidence in your company and your product.”

Each Riino locomotive – of which there are several making up a system – has internal, train-mounted motors to offer optimal driveline power across the system. These locomotives also come with wheels that have full attachment to the rails – via load-bearing, side-attachment and under-attachment wheels – similar to that of a rollercoaster. This eliminates the potential for train derailments, according to Lambert, saving potential system damage as well as downtime.

The inclusion of a Busbar able to provide 750 V of DC power comes out of the subway and surface transit space, meanwhile.

On top of this, the system has auxiliary on-board batteries to eliminate a significant amount of electrical infrastructure such as power cables and additional sub-stations.

This makes for a system able to offer speeds of up to 80 km/h, transport material lump sizes up to -760 mm, carry 120 t on a standard 18% incline road/ramp and navigate road widths of 1.8 m.

The Riino system has auxiliary on-board batteries to eliminate a significant amount of electrical infrastructure such as power cables and additional sub-stations

Lambert concluded: “Riino’s ambitious journey to revolutionise material movement in mining has gained substantial momentum and is swiftly progressing toward realisation.

“This pivotal phase, marked by rigorous study and financial commitments, aims to propel Riino towards a prototype build, positioned for testing in Sudbury. With a scoping study drawing to a close by year-end and subsequent developmental stages on the horizon, Riino stands poised to redefine mining logistics, offering a glimpse into a greener, more efficient future.”

CEEC-GlobalWaterInitiative

Weir and Agnico Eagle sign up to CEEC Global Water Initiative

CEEC International, an independent global not-for-profit committed to accelerating the adoption of eco-efficient minerals and metals production practices, has welcomed both Weir and Agnico Eagle Mines as premium sponsors and early adopters of its Global Water Initiative.

Weir, a respected provider of engineered solutions to the resources sector, shares CEEC’s mission to drive the adoption of eco-efficient practices within the industry. Its renewed support as a premium sponsor underscores the company’s dedication to advancing sustainable minerals and metals production, according to CEEC.

The support from Agnico, a major gold producer, signifies a strategic alliance and collaboration aimed at promoting sustainable mineral processing and improved understanding of water management within the resources sector, CEEC said, with the association between the two companies grounded in a shared vision to accelerate the adoption of eco-efficient practices in the resources sector.

The Global Water Initiative, officially launching at the MetPlant 2023 Conference, being held on November 5-8 in Adelaide, Australia, is a critical step towards addressing water management and risk mitigation in the resources sector. The initiative seeks to build a shared understanding, identify gaps and outline necessary actions to ensure responsible water usage within the industry.

CEEC’s mission is to facilitate knowledge sharing, cross-sector collaboration and advocacy of eco-efficient practices within the global resources sector. By disseminating research findings, analytical tools and innovative solutions, CEEC aims to reduce energy and water consumption, as well as other associated impacts in mining, processing and refining of minerals, it says.

CEEC International says it encourages industry stakeholders to join the initiative, contribute to the discussions and collectively shape a more sustainable future for water management within the resources sector.

Agnico Eagle’s Detour Lake mine adds Cat 798 haul trucks to fleet

With the aim of ramping up production at the Detour Lake gold mine in Ontario, Canada, Agnico Eagle Mines has commissioned four Cat® 798 AC haul trucks at the open-pit operation.

These trucks, which come with a 372-t payload and are electric drive, were introduced to the market in 2019, joining the mechanical-drive Cat 797F in the 400-short-ton size class.

Agnico said these new vehicles were introduced to the fleet in the March quarter, with an additional two units planned to be commissioned in the June quarter.

In the March quarter of 2023, the Detour Lake mill set a record for first quarter throughput and activities continued to focus on mill process optimisation and improving availability with the goal of achieving and potentially exceeding throughput of 28 Mt/y. This helped the company produce 161,857 oz of gold in the three-month period.

While the company’s near-term focus is on open-pit operations at the mine, it is also looking to integrate additional drill data into a revised mineral resource model that will be used to evaluate potential underground mining scenarios.

The population of Cat 798 AC trucks has been growing in the last few years, with the Antamina, Toquepala and Cuajone copper mines in Peru. Last year, Finning announced it would deliver 13 Caterpillar 798s to Codelco’s Ministro Hales open-pit copper mine, while BHP, Caterpillar and Finning International announced, in August, that a haul truck fleet replacement process at the Escondida mine, the world’s largest copper producer, would also the OEM and dealer provide Cat 798s to the operation.

LDO Group’s Rokion battery-electric light vehicle refocus starts to pay off

LDO Group is making serious headway in deploying Rokion’s ground-up-design electric light vehicles across Australia, with the New South Wales-based distributor hoping to have three machine trials in place before the end of the year.

LDO is focused on the underground mining and tunnelling industries, specialising in systems, processes, mine planning and training. It has been the exclusive distributor of Canada-made Rokion battery-powered vehicles in Australasia since 2018, having deployed vehicles across the soft- and hard-rock space.

The latest Rokion deployment LDO Group is celebrating is at Agnico Eagle Mines’ Fosterville gold operation in Victoria where a Rokion R400 was recently shown off alongside a Sandvik LH518B at a launch ceremony at the gold operation.

Alan Ross, General Manager of LDO Group, said the R400 vehicle – a platform able to accommodate three passengers in a utility vehicle setup or up to 12 in a passenger crew variant – has been deployed as part of a six-month trial at the operation.

“They (the Fosterville team) plan to use this in a people carrier configuration,” Ross told IM. “It will transport people to and from the operation.”

Considering the ramp-supported Fosterville operation goes below 800-m depth, this will present a good test for the R400’s re-generation capacity and uphill performance.

Rokion says the vehicle, which has 100 kWh of battery capacity, was engineered for the demands of underground mining and is its most adaptive platform design, capable of transporting a large crew in mine applications. Like all Rokion vehicles, it incorporates lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry, which, the company says, is the safest battery chemistry currently available.

The vehicle heading underground at Fosterville was previously deployed at a coal mining operation in Queensland, yet Ross says LDO Group is now re-focusing its efforts on the hard-rock mining space.

This has already seen the company partner with Newmont on an R400 deployment at its Tanami underground operation in the Northern Territory of Australia where it was initially used to transport team members up and down the mine.

Newmont said last year that early indicators had shown the vehicle had the capability to complete several trips to and from the bottom of the Tanami mine without requiring recharging.

Ross agreed with the Newmont assessment, explaining that the company was expected to re-deploy the same unit to the Tanami operation with an additional battery cooling module later this year.

“The ambient temperatures can reach 50°C in the Tanami desert, so we have equipped the vehicle with this new module to cope with such extremes,” he explained.

The company also has two R200 units – which include a four-passenger crew truck and a two-passenger utility truck – in Australia awaiting redeployment. One of these vehicles recently completed a successful stint at a tunnelling operation in the country.

LDO is also engaged with another mining company with an operation in New South Wales seeking to trial Rokion’s smallest battery-electric platform, the R100.

The R100 series includes a four-passenger crew truck and a two-passenger utility truck, with both models built on the same frame dimensions and available in ramp-ready configurations.

“We’re currently focused on these three key customers and supporting them in terms of the deployments and on-going operations,” Ross said.

In addition to regular site visits from LDO personnel to support maintenance and operations staff at the underground mines, LDO staff are able to remotely download data logs for these machines on a daily basis, assessing if there is potential for optimising the operation or if maintenance work may need to be conducted.

With many companies in the battery-electric light vehicle conversion space in Australia struggling to get hold of donor diesel vehicles, Ross says mining companies are increasingly appreciating Rokion’s ground-up approach.

“We have a fantastic OEM partner to rely on for these vehicles and we at LDO are able to support them in the best possible way,” he said. “We don’t have to rely on a different vendor to obtain the base machine; the design, engineering, manufacturing and testing are all performed under the Rokion roof, ensuring quality from concept to delivery.”

Ross said Rokion is continually working on design improvements and new machines based on industry feedback, with a newly-designed R200 vehicle set to bridge the gap between the existing R200 and the larger R400.

The latest in Rokion’s R200 Series is an 11-passenger crew truck built on a heavier frame and suspension construction than previous models, Kipp Sakundiak says

Kipp Sakundiak, CEO of Rokion, was happy to provide more details of this to IM: “The latest in our R200 Series is an 11-passenger crew truck built on a heavier frame and suspension construction than our previous models, all the while maintaining the simplicity and performance of dual drive motors.”

Sakundiak said the new model was robust and powerful, at the same time offering a comfortable ride for all crew members.

He added: “There is a lot of adaptability built into the new platform, including configurations for soft- and hard-rock applications. It’s one of our most versatile designs.”

South32 becomes latest miner to join BluVein mine electrification project

BluVein has announced its ninth and newest funding partner to join the BluVein mine electrification project powered by Rethink Mining (Powered by CMIC), with South32 being the latest miner to join the cause.

BluVein is a joint venture between Australia-based mining innovator Olitek and Sweden-based electric highways developer Evias. The company has devised a patented slotted (electric) rail system, which uses an enclosed electrified e-rail system mounted above or beside the mining vehicle together with the BluVein hammer that connects the electric vehicle to the rail. The system provides power for driving the vehicle, typically a mine truck, and charging the truck’s batteries while the truck is hauling load up the ramp and out of an underground mine.

South32 joins Vale, Northern Star Resources Limited, Glencore, Newcrest Mining, AngloGold Ashanti, BHP, OZ Minerals and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited as BluVein funding partners.

Earlier this month, BluVein and Epiroc formed an MoU with BluVein aimed at fast-tracking development of the BluVein dynamic charging solution towards an industrialised and robust solution which is ready for deployment across the global mining industry. The MoU is focused on the BluVein Underground solution (BluVein1), but BluVein is also developing a solution for open-pit mining.

Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold merger to create ‘Canadian mining champion’

Agnico Eagle Mines and Kirkland Lake Gold have entered into an agreement to combine in a merger of equals, with the combined company to continue under the name Agnico Eagle Mines Limited.

The merger will establish the new Agnico Eagle as the gold industry’s highest-quality senior producer, with the lowest unit costs, highest margins, most favourable risk profile and industry-leading best practices in key areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG), the companies said.

Upon closing of the merger, the company is expected to have $2.3 billion of available liquidity, a mineral reserve base of 48 Moz of gold, (969 Mt at 1.53 g/t Au) – which has doubled over the last 10 years, and an extensive pipeline of development and exploration projects to drive sustainable, low-risk growth, they added. Expected production of the two companies for 2021 is approximately 3.4 Moz.

“The merger will create a best-in-class gold mining company operating in one of the world’s leading gold regions, the Abitibi-Greenstone Belt of north-eastern Ontario and north-western Quebec, with superior financial and operating metrics,” Agnico and Kirkland Lake said. “Consolidation within the Abitibi will also provide the new Agnico Eagle with significant value creation opportunities through synergies and other business improvement initiatives. Additionally, the company is established uniquely as the only gold producer in Nunavut and well positioned internationally with profitable and prospective assets in Australia, Finland and Mexico.”

The combined entity is also set to be a leader in energy performance and GHG emissions intensity, with a commitment to be Net Zero by 2050 or earlier, they said.

Under the merger agreement, which the Board of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved, the new Agnico Eagle will be led by a combined board and management team including Sean Boyd (Executive Chair), Tony Makuch (CEO), Ammar Al-Joundi (President), Jeffrey Parr (Vice-Chair of the Board) and Jamie Sokalsky (Lead Director).

The transaction is expected to close in December 2021 or in the March quarter of 2022.

Pursuant to the agreement, Kirkland Lake Gold shareholders will receive 0.7935 of an Agnico Eagle common share for each Kirkland Lake Gold common share held, implying a combined market capitalisation of approximately $24 billion. Upon closing, existing Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold shareholders will own approximately 54% and 46% of the combined company, respectively.

Sean Boyd, Agnico Eagle’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “This merger starts a new chapter in Agnico Eagle’s 64-year history and creates the leading low risk global gold company with growing production, low costs and strong ESG leadership. The transaction creates a company with a strong platform of people, assets and financial resources to continue to build and operate a long-term sustainable and self-funding business.

“Kirkland Lake is an excellent cultural fit with Agnico Eagle, and we look forward to working together to further grow our business through exploration, mine development and optimisation of our high-quality asset base. Over time, we believe that the gold industry will continue to evolve and consolidate and with this transaction we are well positioned take advantage of high-quality opportunities and be a true Canadian mining champion.”

Tony Makuch, President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, added: “We are very pleased and excited to be entering into a combination with Agnico Eagle. It is a unique ‘strength-on-strength’ transaction that combines the two global gold producers with the best track records for increasing per share value. The deal creates an industry leader with a dominant position in the Canadian market that is deserving of a premium valuation and is poised to generate superior long-term shareholder value going forward. The transaction represents a true merger of equals, with the business of both companies to benefit from the significant financial strength of the merged company, the extensive pipeline of development and exploration projects to drive future growth, and the potential to realize significant operational and strategic synergies along the Abitibi-Kirkland Lake corridor. It is the right deal for our company and its shareholders, our people, the communities where we operate, and all of our key stakeholder groups.”

IOC to test government-backed hyperspectral core scanning technology

Advanced drill core imaging technology being developed by College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and trialled at Iron Ore Company of Canada’s (IOC) site in Labrador, Canada, has received federal and provincial government backing to the tune of C$4.5 million ($3.6 million).

The Government of Canada, together with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, believe the “game-changing” tech being developed by CNA “will position the region as a global leader in the mining industry”, the CNA said.

Their investments, which come on top of support from IOC and Agnico Eagle Mines, are helping advance the development of a Hyperspectral Scanning Unit (HSU) currently at IOC’s site in Labrador City conducting its first drill core scans.

The HSU, CNA says, produces high-resolution drill core images that will give mining companies a better understanding of a region’s geology. The new technology will make drill core logging more accurate, improve exploration processes and increase the potential to discover new, lucrative mineral deposits, according to the college.

Liz Kidd, President and CEO, College of the North Atlantic, said: “This state-of-the-art technology – one of the most advanced, high throughput hyperspectral drill core scanning units available globally – aligns perfectly with the college’s vision to further expand and develop its applied research and innovation arm so that we can assist industry in achieving positive, breakthrough results in the mining sector.

“We are also excited that our graduates will benefit from the training associated with the HSU that, in turn, will provide meaningful long-term benefits for the province’s future workforce and lead the way in the advancement of hyperspectral technology for the mining sector. We are proud to play a major role in this initiative.”

Chantal Lavoie, Chief Operating Officer, IOC, said the company looked forward to testing equipment at its operations in Labrador West to make IOC an even “more efficient, competitive and sustainable business for generations to come”.

Guy Gosselin, Senior Vice President of Exploration, Agnico Eagle Mines, added: “Agnico Eagle is pleased to be part of this partnership and excited with the potential it represents for our industry. The mobile HSU, developed by CNA, is breakthrough and innovative technology that will bring more robustness to data analysis in a field traditionally based on human observation, while improving its consistency and quality. Ultimately, it will lead to increased exploration and potentially more discoveries, which is key for the future of our business.”

Autonomous loading and hauling pays off at Agnico’s LaRonde, Kittila gold mines

Increased uptake of autonomous loading and hauling technology at the LaRonde (pictured) and Kittila gold mines has helped Agnico Eagle Mines post a record quarter of production for the last three months of 2020.

Payable gold production in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 501,445 oz at all-in sustaining costs of $985/oz, the company reported. This compared with 494,678 oz at an AISC of $1,039/oz in the prior-year period.

Homing in on LaRonde Complex (including the LaRonde mine and the LZ5 Mine), in Quebec, Canada, Agnico put the good performance at LaRonde – production of 105,729 oz during the quarter, down from 112,704 oz in the prior-year period when gold grades were 7.3% higher – down partially to the automation strategy that, the company said, had helped improve productivity and allow continuation of mucking activities during non-entry protocols related to seismicity.

In 2020, 13% of tonnes mucked from stopes at the LaRonde mine were carried out in automation mode and, in December 2020, a record 39% of the production mucking at the LaRonde mine was carried out from surface, which included 100% of the production mucking from the West mine area.

At LZ5, in 2020, 14% of tonnes mucked and hauled to surface were accomplished in automated mode with operators based on surface. This surpassed the 15% target the company had set. For 2021, it is expected 17% of the tonnage will be mucked and hauled remotely to surface and the production rate is expected to be sustained at around 3,000 t/d. “The LZ5 automation team will continue optimising the automated mining techniques,” Agnico said.

Agnico said the target for 2021 is to muck over 17% of the total tonnage for the LaRonde Complex from surface. The company said it is also carrying out work to perform production drilling using automation.

In a January presentation, Agnico stated that 10 LHDs and four trucks had been equipped with Sandvik’s AutoMine® system. Back in 2018, Sandvik announced that the LaRonde mine would become the first operation to use AutoMine with LTE communication network underground on a production scale.

To continue tailings deposition through the LaRonde Complex life of mine, Agnico is also constructing dry-stack tailings facilities, which are expected to be operational by the end of 2022. Dry stacking will help limit the footprint of the new tailings facility and improve the closure of the main tailings ponds, Agnico said.

Moving to Finland at the Kittila gold mine, the use of automation also paid off.

The company said Kittila continued delivering strong performance in the December quarter of 2020, with production above forecast by around 6,000 t. This also coincided with the commissioning of the expanded mill at Kittila, which is now ramping up towards the design capacity of 2 Mt/y.

The mine delivered a record full-year ore production of around 1.85 Mt in 2020, according to the company.

“This performance (in Q4) is driven by an improved fleet management and an increased usage of automation,” Agnico said.

Kittila has been testing autonomous hauling trucks and tele-remote equipment and is targeting to achieve 50% of production drilling and 15% of hauling remotely in 2021, it said.

On top of this, Agnico said the mill had consistently increased availability and the company was evaluating the implementation of advanced process control in 2021.

Weir’s Warman MCR pump more than doubles wear life at Agnico’s LaRonde mine

The superiority of genuine Warman® pumps and parts has been proven in a trial comparing the performance of a Warman MCR® 250 pump with a Warman AH® pump fitted with non-genuine spare parts at Agnico Eagle Mines’ LaRonde gold mine in Quebec, Canada, Weir Minerals says.

The mine had been using two Warman AH 12/10 slurry pumps to manage its SAG mill discharge since operations commenced in 1988. While these pumps were the latest technology at the time, the very coarse slurry was causing the pumps to wear out after just 1,600 hours, according to Weir.

“When a replicator proposed a trial of non-OEM pump liners and parts instead of our genuine Warman parts, they promised to double the wear life of the existing pump components,” Mike Swintak, Regional Senior Product Manager for Weir Minerals, said. “Our engineers investigated the root cause of the wear life problems experienced and decided a Warman MCR pump would achieve much better results compared to the AH pump with non-OEM parts.”

Instead of doubling it, the other manufacturer’s liners and impellers decreased the pump’s wear life by 300 hours, wearing out after just 1,300 hours. In addition to requiring six rebuilds per year, the non-genuine parts interrupted production due to discovery of premature cracks in the liner, Weir said.

Meanwhile, the Warman MCR 250 pump achieved 3,000 hours of continuous operation, requiring only three rebuilds and lowered spare parts costs alone by 36%, or $70,000 per year.

Swintak said: “The fantastic results achieved at LaRonde weren’t just due to the superior wear resistance offered by the pump’s Ultrachrome A05 wear material and superior hydraulic design of the MCR pump. Our engineers worked closely with Agnico Eagle operators to remove problems throughout the circuit contributing to the low wear life being achieved, such as revising their pump box level control procedures and monitoring system to ensure a constant level of 50-75%.”

Automated mucking and loading accelerates at LaRonde Zone 5

Automation efforts at Agnico Eagle Mines’ LaRonde complex in Quebec, Canada, continued to accelerate in the March quarter of 2020, with the company adding an automated production drill for testing at the LaRonde mine.

The complex, which includes the underground LaRonde mine and the LaRonde Zone 5 underground operation, has been testing out autonomous mucking and loading equipment for over a year.

In its March quarter results – which saw the company report a quarterly net loss of $21.6 million despite group production growing to 411,366 oz (from 398,217 oz a year earlier) – the company said it was evaluating an expansion of the mining rate to 3,000 t/d (previous guidance of 2,800 t/d) at LaRonde Zone 5. This followed an increase in daily tonnage in the most recent quarter thanks to continued productivity improvements and successful automation implementation (autonomous mucking and hauling).

Agnico also said automated mucking and hauling had already exceeded the target of 15% of 2020 tonnage in the March quarter alone.

The company said: “In 2020, the company will continue to test and refine automated mining techniques at LZ5. The goal is to increase the tonnage mined remotely to greater than 15% of the total tonnes mined in 2020. During the first quarter of 2020, LZ5 achieved the goal of exceeding 15% of total tonnes mined remotely and achieved a new daily record with 2,200 t/d mined with the automated fleet.”

At the LaRonde mine, meanwhile, the company said it continues to test automated equipment at the operation, explaining that, during the March quarter of 2020, the company began testing an automated production drill.