Agnico Eagle Announces 35% Increase in Inferred Resource at Amaruq Project to 2.0 Million Ounces of Gold; Extension of Whale Tail Deposit Along Strike and at Depth; and New Targets on Amaruq Property

TORONTO, Aug. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM, TSX:AEM) ("Agnico Eagle" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on exploration drilling results at its Amaruq gold project in Nunavut, northern Canada. This rapidly growing deposit remains a focus for the Company given its economic potential, partly due to its close proximity to Agnico Eagle's nearby Meadowbank mine and mill. This update includes an expanded resource estimate for the Whale Tail deposit based on drilling through June 30, 2015. The Company last reported drill results from this project in its news release dated July 29, 2015. Highlights for the 2015 program include:

• Mineral resources expanded by 35% in the Whale tail deposit - Drilling in the first half of 2015 has resulted in an updated inferred resource estimate of 2.0 million ounces of gold (9.7 million tonnes grading 6.47 grams per tonne (g/t) gold) as of June 30, 2015, representing a 35% increase in gold content compared to the December 31, 2014 estimate

• Thick, high-grade ore shoot defined in Whale Tail deposit - An open-ended east-plunging high-grade ore shoot in the Whale Tail deposit has yielded intersections of 6.7 g/t gold (capped) over 32.3 metres at 284 metres depth (AMQ15-310), and 10.4 g/t gold (capped) over 21.9 metres at 311 metres depth (hole AMQ15-330)

• Gold mineralization encountered in gap between Mammoth Lake and Whale Tail deposit - Gold mineralization has been found in the gap between the Whale Tail deposit and the eastern part of Mammoth Lake, including 10.8 g/t gold (capped) over 6.9 metres at 132 metres depth (hole AMQ15-351) and 9.3 g/t gold (capped) over 4.2 metres, also at 132 metres depth (hole AMQ15-302)

• Infill drilling yields multiple intercepts at open pit and underground depths - Successful infill and deep exploration drilling in the western part of the Whale Tail deposit confirms multiple high-grade lenses, such as in hole AMQ15-289 with 4.4 g/t gold (capped) over 7.7 metres at 107 metres depth, 10.6 g/t gold (capped) over 5.6 metres at 189 metres depth and 5.9 g/t gold (capped) over 45.0 metres at 253 metres depth including 9.0 g/t gold (capped) over 13.0 metres at 273 metres depth

• New prospecting results - An intensive till sampling program is currently underway to cover approximately 2,000 hectares in the area surrounding the known discoveries.  The program is confirming previously identified boulder trends and identifying new target areas.  Regional reconnaissance prospecting on the entire property has led to the discovery of several new gold-anomalous areas along the belt, outside of the Whale Tail - Mammoth area.

• Engineering studies and permitting progressing - Engineering and environmental baseline studies are underway to support the permitting process for Amaruq as a potential satellite open pit to the Meadowbank mine; The application to construct an all-weather access road between Meadowbank and the Amaruq site was filed in the first quarter of 2015

"While it is still at an early stages of exploration, in less than two years, the Amaruq property has advanced from a grassroots discovery to a project that now hosts a significant and growing inferred gold resource. We also see good potential to expand the known deposits and discover new areas of mineralization on the property," said Sean Boyd, Agnico Eagle's Chief Executive Officer. "The updated resource estimate demonstrates that the Whale Tail deposit appears amenable to open pit mining, and there is potential for a higher grade underground operation," added Mr. Boyd.

 

Amaruq Project Resources Expanded

 

Agnico Eagle has a 100% interest in the Amaruq project. The large property consists of 114,761 hectares of Inuit-owned and federal crown land, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of the Meadowbank mine.

 

In February 2015, the Company announced an initial inferred mineral resource. This release announces an updated estimate of the inferred resources in the Whale Tail deposit and I, V and R zones as of June 30, 2015.

 

It is expected that the Whale Tail mineral resource estimate will be updated as of year-end 2015, which will be reported in mid-February 2016, incorporating all remaining assays from the 2015 phase one drill program (approximately 65 drill holes) as well as all of the ongoing 50,000-metre phase two drill program results.

 

[Amaruq local geology map, showing new drill hole collars]

 

Whale Tail Zone Shows Significant Resource Growth

 

The I, V and R mineralized zones were discovered in 2013 shortly after the Company acquired the Amaruq property, and the Whale Tail deposit was discovered in 2014, to the south of the R zone. The initial resource estimate at Amaruq was 1.5 million ounces of gold (6.6 million tonnes grading 7.07 g/t gold) in inferred resources as of December 31, 2014 (see Company news release dated April 30, 2015). Of this amount 93% was in the Whale Tail deposit, while the rest was in the I, V and R zones.

 

The updated resource estimate as of June 30, 2015 is based on drilling completed from 2013 to the end of the 2015 phase one drill program on the Whale Tail deposit and I, V and R zones. The 2015 phase one drilling included 108 holes (25,916 metres) of infill drilling on the Whale Tail deposit, as well as exploration drilling completed by June 30, 2015. Highlights from the first portion of the 2015 phase one drilling were reported in Company's news releases dated April 30, 2015, June 9, 2015 and July 29, 2015.

 

The infill drilling on the Whale Tail deposit was done to a depth of approximately 200 metres at 40-metre spacing, while the exploration drilling probed as deep as 400 metres locally in the Whale Tail deposit. The number of drill holes completed in the Mammoth Lake area is not yet sufficient to allow resources to be estimated in the area; additional drilling from the winter ice will be required in 2016.

 

The table below summarizes the updated resources for the Whale Tail deposit and the I, V and R zones.  This estimate uses the same metal price and exchange rate assumptions as the December 31, 2014 resource estimate. The cut-off grades for the Whale Tail deposit and I, V, R zones are 2.4 g/t gold for open pit resources and 4.5 g/t gold for underground resources.

 

As of June 30, 2015, the inferred gold resource of the Amaruq project is estimated to be 2.0 million ounces of gold (9.7 million tonnes grading 6.47 g/t).  This represents a 35% increase in contained gold compared with the inferred resources estimated as of December 31, 2014. Of the updated inferred resource, 53% (based on contained gold) is within the preliminary pit shell limit in the Whale Tail deposit and 42% is outside the preliminary Whale Tail pit shell, mostly underneath it. The rest of the inferred resource (5%) is in the I, V and R zones.

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