TORONTO, Sept. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX:AEM, NYSE:AEM) (“Agnico Eagle” or the “Company”) and Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (TSX:KL, NYSE:KL, ASX:KLA) (“Kirkland Lake Gold”) announced today that they have entered into an agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) to combine in a merger of equals (the “Merger”), with the combined company to continue under the name “Agnico Eagle Mines Limited”. The Merger will establish the new Agnico Eagle as the gold industry’s highest-quality senior producer, with the lowest unit costs, highest margins, most favourable risk profile and industry-leading best practices in key areas of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”). Upon closing of the Merger, the Company is expected to have $2.3 billion of available liquidity, a mineral reserve base of 48 million ounces of gold (969 million tonnes at 1.53 grams per tonne), which has doubled over the last 10 years, and an extensive pipeline of development and exploration projects to drive sustainable, low-risk growth.
The Merger will create a best-in-class gold mining company operating in one of the world’s leading gold regions, the Abitibi-Greenstone Belt of northeastern Ontario and northwestern Quebec (the “Abitibi”), with superior financial and operating metrics. Consolidation within the Abitibi will also provide the new Agnico Eagle with significant value creation opportunities through synergies and other business improvement initiatives. Additionally, the Company is established uniquely as the only gold producer in Nunavut and well positioned internationally with profitable and prospective assets in Australia, Finland, and Mexico.