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查看配图Agnico Eagle Mines CEO Amar Al-Joundi speaks at the Capital Projects Symposium in Toronto. Credit: Blair McBride
Posted By: Blair McBride November 9, 2026
Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM) is willing to spend more and wait longer before committing to new mines to avoid costly surprises during construction, CEO Ammar Al-Joundi says.
Agnico’s history offers a guide to what can go wrong. Higher-than-expected operating costs and lower ore grades at its Meadowbank mine in Nunavut prompted a $645-million (C$910-million) after-tax writedown in 2011. That same year, Agnico recorded a $161-million writedown at Goldex in Quebec after rock stability concerns forced a suspension of production. Al-Joundi didn’t explicitly link today’s approach to those setbacks.
“Most of our peers will do 30 or 40% detailed engineering before they announce a project,” Al-Joundi said Monday at the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s (CIM) Capital Projects Symposium in Toronto.
“The disadvantage of getting to the higher engineering is it costs you more and it delays the announcement. The big advantage is it materially reduces your risk. It doesn’t eliminate it, but it reduces a lot of risk.”
Agnico aims to complete 60% to 70% of detailed engineering before approving construction, compared with the 30% to 40% most peers complete before announcing projects, the CEO said. In an industry dogged by budget overruns and delays, that extra preparation is intended to make cost estimates more reliable and build investors’ confidence that the company can deliver.
Trust over risk
Agnico’s approach addresses one of the mining industry’s most persistent problems: projects that run over budget or fall behind schedule as unforeseen engineering, construction and logistical challenges emerge.
By completing more engineering and securing key permits and infrastructure before committing to development, Agnico aims to produce more reliable cost estimates, reduce execution risks and strengthen investor confidence in its ability to deliver new mines.
“Investors are okay to take risks if they feel they’ve been truthfully and objectively told what those risks are,” Al-Joundi said. “Investors, by definition, take risks. They won’t invest in someone they don’t trust.”
Staying inside budgets
Since grappling with cost overruns, Agnico has demonstrated its ability to deliver major projects within budget. Its Meliadine mine in Nunavut achieved commercial production in May 2019 ahead of schedule and about $70 million below its original $900-million construction budget.
More recently, the company had completed 62% of detailed engineering when it approved construction of the Hope Bay gold project in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region in May 2026, putting the project within the 60% to 70% range Al-Joundi described. By the end of September, engineering had advanced to approximately 76%, while construction was about 13% complete and slightly ahead of schedule. First gold production is targeted for 2030.
In-house talent
Agnico’s approach extends beyond engineering. Rather than relying entirely on outside contractors to build its mines, the company retains experienced construction teams that move between projects in the same mining regions.
“In Nunavut, we are building our fourth mine. It’s the same team that built the previous three mines,” Al-Joundi said. “The people who build our shafts are our people.”
He pointed to Canadian Malartic in Quebec, where the company plans to use personnel who worked on its first shaft to develop a second.
Keeping experienced workers and construction expertise within the company reduces the need to assemble unfamiliar teams for each project. It also gives Agnico greater familiarity with local suppliers, infrastructure and construction costs, Al-Joundi said.
Not all roses
But he acknowledged Agnico’s approach isn’t perfect. It requires substantial upfront investment and can delay development announcements.
“We have the cash flow to allow us to spend – making the numbers up – $100 million on engineering before we go ahead instead of $15 million,” he said. “We just have the luxury of being able to do that.”
The benefits are particularly significant in Nunavut, where short shipping seasons and high transportation costs leave little room for construction mistakes, he said.
At Hope Bay, Al-Joundi estimated that shipping materials by barge, such as structural steel, costs about 10¢ per kilogram, compared with roughly $10 per kilogram by air. The company has only about seven weeks to move supplies north by sea.
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