NUNAVUT
Agnico Eagle's future with Meliadine looks good. The company's latest report on the gold mine project in Nunavut estimates 3.3 million ounces of gold in "proven and probable" mineral reserves out of 13.9 million tonnes of ore, all contained in the Tiriganiaq and Wesmeg deposits.

An aerial view of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.'s Meadowbank gold mine near Baker Lake. Meadowbank is the heart of Agnico Eagle's global production. - photo courtesy Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

Annual gold production is estimated to be approximately 326,000 ounces in each of the first three years, rising to 362,000 ounces in each of the five years afterwards.

President and CEO Sean Boyd called the site a key asset in the company's Nunavut development strategy, citing the site's large reserve and resource base.

"We continue to study and analyze various scenarios and alternatives at Meadowbank, Amaruq and Meliadine to capitalize on our large and growing reserves and resources in the region," he said in a written statement.

While the mine's life is expected to be about nine years, Boyd said Agnico Eagle could have a positive future well beyond that time period.

"We believe that between the Meliadine and Amaruq deposits, the company has a significant mining platform that could potentially be producing gold for several decades."

Company spokesperson Dale Coffin said the project certificate issued in February allows Agnico Eagle to apply for the necessary permits to begin construction. This includes the crucial Type A Water Licence, which would authorize all water use and waste disposal requirements for the Meliadine mine during the construction, operation and ultimate reclamation phases of the project.

"We are currently working on this application with the intent to file with the Nunavut Water Board in the next few months," Coffin said, adding that there won't be a large increase of workers at the site due to this ongoing application process.

Acquired in 2010 and totalling 111,757 hectares, Meliadine is Agnico Eagle's largest development project based on reserves and resources. Currently, there are approximately 180 people working at Meliadine: 35 Agnico Eagle employees (23 per cent Inuit) and 145 contractors (16 per cent Inuit).

The 2015 budget for Meliadine is approximately $64 million. Of this total, approximately $21 million will be put toward planned underground development (2,500 metres).

In the public statement on the technical report, Agnico Eagle also said they are "currently studying various options and alternatives in Nunavut to capitalize on the large and growing resource base in the region and maximize value".

Work is also now underway at the Amaruq project, located approximately 50 kilometres northwest of the Meadowbank mine. The first phase of the drilling program in 2015 is expected to include approximately 50,000 metres of drilling (costing approximately $20 million) The company said the first rig is expected to begin drilling shortly and three drills are expected to be in operation by the end of this month.

Agnico Eagle expects to have up to eight drills in operation by the end of April.

The company is also continuing to undergo permitting and preliminary engineering activities for the possible construction of an all-weather exploration road linking the Amaruq exploration site to the Meadowbank mine. This road would be used for fuel, equipment and personnel transportation. In its statement, Agnico Eagle said they hope to develop Amaruq as a satellite operation to Meadowbank.