Nunavut gold mine owner Agnico-Eagle reports record third quarter

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., enjoyed a good third quarter in 2012, buoyed by record financial and operating results at several of its properties, including the Meadowbank gold mine in Nunavut, the company’s third quarter financial statements said.

In the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2012, the company reduced its cash costs at Meadowbank to $734 per ounce.

That’s down from the $1,033 per ounce figure posted during the same period in 2011.

“The higher net income and cash provided by operating activities in the 2012 periods were primarily due to significantly stronger gold production and good cost performance at several of the operating mines, in particular at Meadowbank in Nunavut,” Agnico-Eagle said in its financial report.

In the first nine months of 2012, the firm churned out 288,792 ounces of gold at Meadowbank at a total cash cost of $836 per ounce.

That’s up from 2011, when the mine produce only 199,254 ounces of gold at a total cash cost of $969 per ounce.

Agnico-Eagle attributes this to the mining of ore grades that are 22 per cent higher than during the same period of 2011.

Overall, the firm reported net income of $106.3 million in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2012. That’s a big improvement over the same period in 2011, when they reported a net loss of $81.6 million.

In the first nine months of 2012, Agnico-Eagle generated a net income of $228.1 million, compared with only $32.5 million over the first nine months of 2011.