Agnico Eagle Expects 2023 Production at High End of Guidance After Finland Mine's Permit Restored
October 27 2023 - 7:07AM
Dow Jones News
By Robb M. Stewart
Agnico Eagle Mines expects production for the year to come in
toward the upper end of its target after a court in Finland
restored the gold producer's operating permit for its Kittila mine
in the country's north, allowing it to operate at a higher
capacity.
The ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland
reverts the operating permit for Kittila, the largest primary gold
producer in Europe, to 2 million metric tons a year and overturns a
lower court decision that restricted the operation to 1.6 million
tons annually.
With the court ruling, the Canadian miner said it now expects an
additional 30,000 ounces of gold output from the Kittila mine in
the final quarter of the year, and for its total annual production
of this year to be near the upper end of guidance for between 3.24
million and 3.44 million ounces.
The Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland in
2020 granted Agnico Eagle environmental and water permits that
would allow the mine to enlarge its storage facility for tailings
and build a new discharge waterline, but the permits were appealed
to the country's Vaasa Administrative Court. The appeals were
granted in mid-2022, meaning the permits were returned to the
regional administrative agency, and Agnico Eagle then appealed the
lower court decision and requested the Supreme Administrative Court
restore the permits.
If the ruling had gone against the company, it would have been
forced to scale back operations this quarter to remain within the
reduced permitted rate and would have meant production for the year
of 190,000 to 210,000 ounces of gold. No further appeals are
available, Agnico Eagle said.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 27, 2023 07:52 ET (11:52 GMT)
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