Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM) has suspended mining at the Barnat open pit at its Canadian Malartic complex in Quebec after a section of the pit’s north wall gave way.
The company said a rock mass movement struck the wall on July 1 and that no one was hurt. There was no equipment damage or environmental impact. Mining in the pit was halted as a precaution while technical teams assess the ground.
The failure is said to have occurred in an area that was previously flagged for weaker geological structures and placed under enhanced geotechnical monitoring, including safety exclusion zones. Agnico said the affected zone was being watched under its standard mine-planning and safety protocols when the movement happened.
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Crews are now running a detailed stability assessment to map out a safe restart, though the company has not set a firm timeline.
The processing plant will keep running in the meantime. Agnico plans to feed the mill low grade ore from existing stockpiles in place of the Barnat material, softening the near term hit to output.
In terms of impact, Agnico still expects roughly 845,000 ounces of gold production in the second quarter, slightly ahead of plan. The damage lands in the back half of the year, with the company estimating a reduction of 60,000 to 80,000 ounces at Canadian Malartic overall. Full year output is now expected near the low end of its 3.3 million to 3.5 million ounce guidance range.
The larger impact is to occur over the coming years. Barnat was scheduled to be mined out by early 2029, and Agnico now sees the event trimming as much as 150,000 ounces annually in both 2027 and 2028 from production plans, pending its review.
Notably, the company said the neighbouring Odyssey underground mine is unaffected, and its plan to lift Canadian Malartic to 1 million ounces a year in the early 2030s remains intact.
Updated guidance will accompany second quarter results on July 29.
Agnico Eagle last traded at $220.36 on the TSX.
