Project Overview
The Canadian Malartic Complex, consisting of the Canadian Malartic gold mine and Odyssey Underground Project, is one of Canada's largest operating gold mines and is fully owned and operated by Agnico Eagle.
The mine is located in the Town of Malartic, in the heart of Québec's Abitibi Gold Belt, Canada. From 1935 to 1983 underground mine production was conducted by various operators across the property, and most recently, the consolidated property was operated by Osisko Mining Corporation ("Osisko Mining") which began production in 2011. In April 2014, Agnico Eagle and Yamana jointly acquired 100% of Osisko Mining in which Agnico Eagle and Yamana formed a joint committee to operate the Canadian Malartic mine - the Canadian Malartic Partnership. In 2023 Agnico Eagle completed the acquisition of Yamana's 50% interest in the mine and now holds 100% of Canadian Malartic.
The Odyssey Underground Project ("Odyssey") is the underground extension of the Canadian Malartic open-pit mine set to become Canada's largest underground mine. The current mine plan envisions 500,000 to 600,000 ounces of annual production until 2039, however there is the strong potential to increase the annual throughput and life of mine given the excess plant capacity and significant underlying mineral resources that are not currently in the mine plan. The current underground mine plan outlines a 19,000 tpd operation while the processing facility at Canadian Malartic has capacity for 60,000 tpd. The current mine plan also only converts 47% of the current mineral resource. These factors represent the potential to increase annual production and to extend the mine life.
The development of Odyssey combines the use of both ramp and shaft to access the four main mineralized zones: Odyssey North, Odyssey South, East Malartic, and East Gouldie. Gold Royalty's 3.0% NSR covers a significant portion of the mineralization at Odyssey, primarily over the Odyssey North and East Malartic deposits, while also covering a smaller portion of the Norrie Zone and currently producing Barnat Pit.
The shallow mineralized zones will be mined using a dual ramp system from surface whereas deeper mineralized zones will be accessed from a production shaft. The main ramp reached a depth of 410m in Q3 2022 and development of production levels is underway. The focus in 2023 is on draw point development and stope preparation, with delineation drilling to be initiated in early 2023. Drilling continues to expand the Odyssey South and East Gouldie zones and delineate the Odyssey internal zones, which were not previously considered in the 2021 PEA mine plan. The overall project continues to be on schedule, with the first key milestone of gold production from Odyssey South in Q1 2023 remaining on target. The Odyssey team is in the process of optimizing the mine plan with recent drilling results, which is expected to result in higher gold production during the construction period, further offsetting the initial capital cost and optimizing the cash flow profile starting in 2023.
Exploration results continue to suggest the potential connection of the East Gouldie deposit and the Norrie Zone along strike to the west where additional drilling is currently underway. Further exploration success near the east near the Midway Project provides additional upside to Gold Royalty's royalty coverage over the project.
Canadian Malartic Open Pit - Photo Gallery
