History
Agnico Eagle grew from a Canadian gold producer into a global one through acquisitions, mine builds and a 2022 Kirkland Lake merger, and took full control of Canadian Malartic in 2023.
2010-2014: Building the pipeline
In December 2010 Agnico-Eagle raised its 2011 quarterly dividend to $0.16 a share, a 256% increase. It forecast 2011 gold production of 1.13 to 1.23 million ounces, rising to about 1.5 million by 2014. It also set a record $145 million exploration budget for 2011, up from $110 million, and expected year-end 2010 gold reserves of 20 to 21 million ounces, against 18.4 million at the 2009 level. Its share count stood at about 169 million at the end of 2010.
Growth came partly by purchase. In September 2011 Agnico offered C$2.80 a share for Grayd Resource Corporation, about C$275 million, in cash or shares. By November, 94.77% of Grayd shares had been tendered, and in January 2012 the last holders were bought out. That brought in the La India project in Mexico, about 70 km from Pinos Altos. In September 2012 the board approved building La India for about $158 million, funded from operating cash flow. It was to produce about 90,000 ounces a year over roughly eight years.
The biggest move came in June 2014, when Agnico and Yamana Gold jointly bought Osisko Mining, each taking 50% and so giving Agnico half of the Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec. Agnico issued 34,794,892 new shares and paid about C$502 million in cash, drawn from its US$1.2 billion revolving credit facility. In October 2014 it renamed a discovery near Meadowbank as Amaruq and reported its best drill results so far, including 6.1 g/t gold over 55.6 metres. In November it bought Cayden Resources, which held the El Barqueno project in Mexico.
2015-2020: Meliadine, Amaruq and the pandemic
The record for 2015 to 2016 is mostly about studying projects. A March 2015 study put Meliadine at 3.3 million ounces of reserves, about $911 million of initial capital and a mine life of about nine years. In August 2015 Amaruq's inferred resource was raised 35% to 2.0 million ounces. In June 2016 the company arranged US$350 million of senior notes. In March 2017 it agreed to sell 5,003,412 new shares to a US institutional investor at US$43.97, about US$220 million, which diluted existing holders. The board approved both Meliadine and Amaruq in February 2017.
Both then delivered. Meliadine reached commercial production on May 14, 2019, ahead of schedule and below its capital budget. Amaruq followed on September 30, 2019, on schedule. A delay in dewatering and a mill shutdown cut Meadowbank's 2019 guidance to 200,000 ounces, though company-wide guidance of 1.75 million ounces held. In June 2019 Agnico also offered about C$26 million for Alexandria Minerals, near its Goldex mine; the record does not show the outcome.
In April 2020, COVID-19 shutdowns put the Mexican operations on care and maintenance, and the Abitibi mines in Quebec were closed until at least April 13. A Finnish employee at Kittila tested positive, and underground work paused for 72 hours. The filing gave no figures for the financial impact.
2021-2022: The Kirkland Lake merger
In September 2021 Agnico announced a merger of equals with Kirkland Lake Gold, at 0.7935 of an Agnico share per Kirkland share. Existing Agnico holders would own about 54% of the combined company and Kirkland holders about 46%. Combined reserves were 48 million ounces, and the companies projected synergies of $0.8 billion over five years. Shareholders of both companies approved the deal on November 29, with about 99.86% of Agnico votes cast in favour.
The merger closed on February 8, 2022. Agnico issued about 209,274,263 shares, and the share count roughly doubled to about 456 million at the end of 2022. The company kept its name, added Australian operations, and named Sean Boyd Executive Chair, Anthony Makuch CEO and Ammar Al-Joundi President. In May 2022 it began its first share buyback, allowing purchases of up to 5% of shares or US$500 million.
In November 2022 Agnico and Pan American Silver made a joint offer for Yamana Gold, with Agnico to take Yamana's Canadian assets for US$1.0 billion in cash and 36,089,907 new shares. Gold Fields, the rival bidder, terminated its agreement on November 9, and the Agnico and Pan American deal became effective.
2023-2026: Full control of Canadian Malartic and beyond
The Yamana deal closed on March 31, 2023. Agnico now owned 100% of Canadian Malartic, the Wasamac project and exploration properties in Ontario and Manitoba. In October 2023 Finland's Supreme Administrative Court confirmed the Kittila mine's permits, restoring its rate to 2 million tonnes a year.
For 2023 Agnico reported record gold production of 3,439,654 ounces and free cash flow of $947.4 million. Year-end reserves rose 10.5% to 53.8 million ounces. The fourth quarter showed a net loss of $381.0 million after $667 million of impairments at Macassa and Pinos Altos. Guidance for 2024 was 3.35 to 3.55 million ounces. By the end of 2024 the share count was about 502 million.
In December 2024 Agnico offered C$1.67 a share in cash, about C$204 million, for O3 Mining, whose Marban Alliance property lies next to Canadian Malartic. The deal completed on March 18, 2025, and O3 became a wholly owned subsidiary. As of March 2026, Agnico described itself as Canada's largest mining company and the world's second largest gold producer. It still held stakes in FireFox Gold and ONGold, and a placement in Cascadia Minerals was expected to close around April 17, 2026, pending approval.
Written from the 33 story beats below (2010 to 18 Mar 2025), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.