Automation, ore sorting, continuous mining and renewable energy solutions are all being examined by Agnico Eagle Mines as the company looks to the future of its gold operations in Canada, Finland and Mexico.
The company is already in the process of installing a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network at its La Ronde Zone 5 (LZ5) project in northwestern Quebec, Canada, which will be rolled out with an autonomous loading and hauling pilot later this. This will make LaRonde the first operation to use Sandvik’s AutoMine® system with an LTE communication network underground on a production scale.
In a company update this week, Agnico Eagle said two production trucks, one scooptram and the required material for automated mining at LZ5 were expected to be on site this quarter and testing was expected to take place in the December quarter. Sandvik originally said it would provide one LH517 17 t LHD and one TH551i 51 t haul truck as part of the initial pilot.
Now, even before the pilot has started, Agnico has said it is examining the potential to use the same LTE infrastructure as part of an automated loading and hauling solution at its La Ronde Zone 3 (LZ3) project.
LZ3 is envisaged as a phased development that could extend mining at La Ronde from 3.1 km to 3.5 km below ground and provide two or three additional production levels through 2022.
At the same time as this, representatives from Agnico Eagle Finland said on a site visit to the Kittilä gold mine in the north of the country – organised as part of the Finland Mine Safari tour for analysts and investors – that the company was weighing up autonomous hauling and loading solutions as part of the €160 million ($185 million) expansion to increase production capacity at the mine to 2 Mt/y by 2021.
With Kittilä set to go down to around 1.15 km below ground and mining due to take place in four distinct zones as part of this expansion, an LTE network will most probably be required for effective use of this technology.
And, this is not all in terms of technology and innovation at Agnico Eagle.
In its latest corporate update, the company said it was evaluating the use of Rail-Veyor technology at its mines across the group. A 3 km underground Rail-Veyor system is already hauling tonnes at the Goldex operation in Quebec.
And, Agnico is preparing to implement a pilot plant for ore sorting technology to potentially boost low-grade ore, while it is closely following a technology pilot for mechanical cutting.
Lastly, the company said it is looking at renewable energy solutions for its operations in Mexico and Nunavut, Canada.
This is part of a global approach to reduce energy costs at select regions by up to 30% and lower greenhouse gas emission, Agnico said.
The areas of study in Nunavut, where the company is currently building out a major production hub, include wind and solar power, the use of LNG and potential hydro options. The power solutions are also likely to include some sort of battery storage.
In Mexico, meanwhile, where the company operates its Pinos Altos gold mine, it is looking to solar power as a way of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions.