La India Commissioning Underway

TORONTO – Agnico Eagle Mines Limited reported that La India mine, in Mexico, commissioning in progress – mining and pad loading are now underway with initial leaching to begin. Commercial production is anticipated in the first quarter of 2014.

The La India mine is located approximately 70 kilometers from the Company’s Pinos Altos mine, was acquired in November 2011 from Grayd Resources along with a 56,000-hectare land position in the prolific Mulatos Gold belt. Design, permitting, construction and start-up of the La India mine have been completed within 22 months of acquisition.

The operation is an open pit, heap leach mine with a stripping ratio of approximately 1:1. The mining rate is expected to be approximately 16,000 tones per day (tpd), using 777 haul trucks (90-tonne) and 992 loaders, which is the equipment used at the Company’s Pinos Altos and Creston Mascota operations.

Ore will undergo three-stage crushing to minus 19 millimeter, and the crushing circuit has been designed with room for expansion. The leach pad, which will be constructed in two phases, will have a capacity of up to 50 million dry tones. Current reserves are 33.5M tones of ore grading at 0.72 grams per tone (g/t) of gold or 776,000 ounces (see the Company’s February 13, 2013 news release).

The gold adsorption facility (ADR plant), which consists of two parallel trains of five 3.5-tonne carbon adsorption columns and a Zadra strip with electro winning, is designed to process leach flows from up to 6.0 million dry tones per year (16,438 tpd). Leach recovery is estimated at 80% with a 90-day leach time.

Gold production is expected to average approximately 90,000 ounces per year at an average total cash cost of approximately $500 per ounce1.  In its February 13, 2013 press release; the Company estimated gold production of 40,000 and 81,000 ounces in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

With mechanical completion now achieved and the crushing circuit operational, mining and loading of the leach pad is underway.  It is expected that leaching will begin in October, with initial gold production during the fourth quarter of 2013. Commercial production is anticipated in the first quarter of 2014. The project’s capital expenditures remain on budget at $157.6 million.

Metallurgical testing continues on the La India sulphides and Tarachi ores.