Abitibi Greenstone Belt – Republic of Mining

Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold merger likely the last major deal in Canada – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – October 4, 2021)

October 5, 2021

Global mining news

The mega-merger of Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) and Kirkland Lake Gold (TSX: KL; NYSE: KL; ASX: KLA) unveiled to the market on September 28 “makes a lot of strategic sense” but is likely to be the last blockbuster M&A deal by a major in the Canadian mining sector, according to Haywood Securities mining analyst Kerry Smith.

“Most of the big deals are done,” Smith says in an interview. “There are going to be acquisitions of assets by some of the mid-tiers—that’s what’s going to come next. I think we’ll see mid-tier mining companies buying single-asset development stage companies; companies like Rupert Resources, Moneta, and Belo Sun Mining and others — companies that are in super-easy jurisdictions to work in.”

M&A heats up in a deeply oversold mining sector – by David Erfle (Kitco News – October 1, 2021)

October 4, 2021

https://www.kitco.com/

In a sector where investor confidence is extremely low, mining companies re-kindled efforts to explore alliances and partnerships to bring promising projects online and share the risk between parties during the recently concluded in-person Colorado mining conferences.

On Tuesday, global miners Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (AEM) and Kirkland Lake Gold (KL) announced that they have agreed on a merger of equals, with the combined company to continue under the former’s name.

Gold miners Agnico Eagle, Kirkland Lake propose $13.5 billion mega-merger – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – September 29, 2021)

September 29, 2021September 29, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., largest and second-largest gold producers in Canada, on Tuesday announced an all-stock merger, valued at around $13.5 billion that creates a new gold mining giant with its center of gravity in Canada.

The merged entity would keep the Agnico Eagle name and produce about 2.5 of its 3.4 million ounces of gold per year from mines in Canada. The deal comes about one year after gold, a traditional safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, reached an all-time peak at US$2,067 per ounce in August 2020.

Agnico Eagle deal to buy Kirkland Lake Gold criticized – by Niall McGee and Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – September 29, 2021)

September 29, 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. plans to acquire Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. in an all-stock transaction that the companies say will create a “true Canadian mining champion,” but the deal garnered a lukewarm reception on Bay Street, with some investors questioning the strategic rationale.

Toronto-based Agnico said on Tuesday it intends to pay 0.7935 of its shares for each Kirkland share, or about 1 per cent higher than Kirkland’s average close over the 10-day period as of last Friday, essentially making it a nil-premium deal valued at more than $13-billion.

Area Play: M&A on the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Quebec – by David Erfle (Kitco News – January 22, 2021)

January 22, 2021

https://www.kitco.com/

In the early 20th century, the discovery of the Cadillac-Larder Lake Fault Zone (CLLFZ) ushered in the Abitibi-Tamiscamingue Gold Rush and the geological anomaly continues to have a major impact on Quebec’s mining history.

The massive CLLFZ is a regional-scale strike fault and/or shear zone and is one of the most important structural controls on the gold mineralization in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt (AGB), which has produced 190 million ounces of gold since the early 1900s.

Its name derives from the township of Cadillac, where it was first discovered. The CLLFZ is roughly 160 kilometers long and extends from the town of Val d’Or, in Quebec, to Kirkland Lake, in Ontario, Canada. Although the city’s name in French means “valley of gold,” there is no valley in Val d’Or, however, there is still plenty of gold remaining in the surrounding area.

Dream No Small Dreams: The opportunity for transformative growth in Red Lake Video (Pure Gold Mining – November 2020)

November 17, 2020

The Red Lake camp produced 155 000 ounces of gold in 2019 and has produced 29.5 million ounces of gold historically as of the end of 2019.

Ontario produced 2.4 million ounces of gold in 2019 and has produced 195.3 million ounces of gold historically as of the end of 2019.

Ontario 2019 Gold Production From Major Camps (MNDM Statistics)

The Timmins District produced 1.1 million ounces of gold in 2019 and has produced 76.6 million ounces of gold historically as of the end of 2019.
The Kirkland Lake camp produced 577,544 ounces of gold in 2019 and has produced 46.8 million ounces of gold historically (including tailings) as of the end of 2019.
The Hemlo camp produced 213,000 ounces of gold in 2019 and has produced 22.2 million ounces of gold historically as of the end of 2019.

Kirkland Lake’s results boosted by Detour mine – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 6, 2020)

November 6, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Kirkland Lake Gold (TSX, NYSE:KL) (ASX:KLA) is happy with its acquisition of Detour Gold early this year, as it gained control of the Detour Lake mine in Ontario, which now accounts for more than 40% of the company’s 2020 free cash flow.

“We are extremely pleased with the contribution already being made by Detour Lake mine, which generated $231 million of free cash flow in the first eight months since the transaction,” chief executive Tony Makuch said in the statement.

The C$4.4 billion ($3.4 billion) acquisition of Detour added 14.8 million ounces to Kirkland’s reserves, easing concerns about the short mine-life of the company’s flagship underground Fosterville operations in Australia.

Iamgold suspends production at Quebec gold mine after earthquake – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 2, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Iamgold Corp. has suspended mining at its Westwood gold mine in Quebec after yet another earthquake hit the site on the weekend, the latest in a long list of seismic events over the past few years to affect both production and reserves.

On Monday, the Toronto-based gold company said in a statement that an earthquake occurred at the underground mine around 2:30 p.m. on Friday. All underground employees were safely brought to the surface but Iamgold did not specify how long the process took.

Natural Resources Canada said the quake measured 3.8 on the Richter scale, and was “lightly felt” by residents of Preissac, Que., in the Abitibi region.

Yamana Gold buying out Northern Quebec’s Monarch Gold in C$152 million deal – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – November 2, 2020)

November 2, 2020

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Mining activity in Northern Quebec continues to heat up, with Yamana Gold increasing its footprint in the Abitibi region after it announced it would buy Monarch Gold’s Wasamac property and the Camflo property and mill.

Announced Monday, under the agreements of the friendly takeover, Yamana will purchase all outstanding Monarch shares in a cash and equity deal valued at approximately C$152 million.

“The acquisition provides Yamana with a high-quality project with a significant mineral reserve and mineral resource base and excellent potential for further expansion.

Gatling makes the connection with Larder Lake deposits: Exploration drilling proves three deposits are part of one gold system – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 22, 2020)

September 22, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Gatling Resources has connected three high-grade deposits at its Larder Gold Project in northeastern Ontario, and can prove it’s all part of one large mineralized system.

The Vancouver junior miner claims it has successfully drilled gold mineralization between its Fernland and Cheminis deposits.

The company’s Larder Project hosts three high-grade gold deposits – Bear, Cheminis and Fernland – along the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break, 35 kilometres east of Kirkland Lake.

Kirkland Lake Gold expands exploration footprint into western Quebec – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 15, 2020)

September 15, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Wallbridge eyes cross-border joint venture opportunity with Detour East option

Sudbury’s Wallbridge Mining has inked a term sheet to do a joint venture with Kirkland Lake Gold of its Detour East gold property in northwestern Quebec.

Under the agreement, Kirkland Lake Gold can earn a 75 per cent interest in Detour East by spending a total of $35 million on exploration at the property.

Detour East is an early exploration stage property, 11 kilometres east of Kirkland Lake Gold’s Detour Lake gold mine in northeastern Ontario.

VAL d’OR: HALFBOOTS AND HIGH HEELS – by McKenzie Porter (MACLEAN’S Magazine – December 1, 1949)

June 16, 2020

https://archive.macleans.ca/

Quebec’s lusty young city of gold defiantly kicks up its heels but progress and plumbing are taming it into respectability

LAST AUGUST police raided Lew Gagnier’s so-called Hunting and Fishing Club in Val d’Or, Northwest Quebec, and seized chips, dice, shakers and gambling machines which had been used in the Yukon 60 years ago.

Not since Dawson City burgeoned to the ballads of Robert W. Service has such a lusty town as Val d’Or been whelped from the strike of a bonanza.

Fifteen years ago it was matted muskeg, the lair of timber wolves, 65 miles east of the then new gold mines in Rouyn-Noranda. Today it is a gilded city of 10,000 glittering in the heart of a forest.

The paradoxes of the old and the new are plain in Val d’Or. You could stand bathed in Neon light at either end of the mile-long main drag and bag a too curious moose in the bush which huddles up to the city limits.

Quebec’s Cadillac Gold Trend Rich with Opportunity (Gold Investing News – June 15, 2020)

June 16, 2020

Home

This INNSpired article is sponsored by QMX Gold https://www.qmxgold.ca/

Located in the heart of the Abitibi greenstone belt, Quebec’s Cadillac gold trend has a storied history as a prolific mining hub for the past century, producing more than 50 million ounces of gold to date.

Despite the long history of extraction, the area is far from tapped out as deposits are still being found and developed. Recently, the historic area has seen something of a renaissance as resource companies look to redevelop past-producing mines with significant potential.

Quebec’s reputation as a mining jurisdiction

The high number of exploration and development projects located in Quebec, including the Cadillac trend, are reflective of the province’s increasing leadership in the mining sector. According to the Fraser Institute’s annual rankings for 2018, Quebec was the fourth-best mining jurisdiction in terms of investment attractiveness.

Kirkland Lake Gold won’t budge as large Detour shareholder pushes for better offer – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 18, 2020)

January 20, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. has no intention of improving its $4.9-billion all-stock offer for Detour Gold Corp., despite calls from one of Detour’s biggest shareholders for a last-minute sweetener.

Toronto-based Kirkland offered 0.4343 of its own shares for each Detour share, a 24-per-cent premium to the Nov. 22 closing price. “We can’t, and don’t intend to, change the terms,” Tony Makuch, chief executive of Kirkland Lake, said in an interview on Friday. “It’s a full and fair offer.”

Even though no other bidder surfaced with a higher offer for Toronto-based Detour, the market had been been anticipating that Kirkland might improve its bid. Over the past few weeks, shares in Detour consistently traded above Kirkland’s offer, before finally dropping a few cents below it, on Friday.

Kirkland Lake CEO sees no need to raise Detour Gold bid after stock tops purchase price – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – December 10, 2019)

December 10, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Speculation that rival bidder could emerge

Toronto-based Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. chief executive Anthony Makuch said on Monday his company is not interested in raising or changing the offer it made last month to purchase Detour Gold Corp., after one analyst speculated that a new bidder may emerge.

In November, Kirkland announced an all-stock buyout that valued Detour shares at $27.50, or about a 24 per cent premium to its prior closing price, and pegged the entire transaction at about $4.89 billion.

Both companies operate gold mines in eastern Ontario, but have had starkly different trajectories over the past three years. Kirkland operates two high grade underground mines, including one in Australia, that produce gold at some of the lowest costs in the sector, and has been one of the best performing stocks on the TSX during that time.