Agnico wins Kittila appeal

Agnico Eagle Mines has received approval to operate its Kittila gold mine in Finland at a 2Mtpa throughput rate after the Supreme Administrative Court restored its operating permit.

Agnico said the restoration of the permit would allow the mine to produce up to an additional 30,000oz in the December quarter.

Before the decision, Kittila was limited to a throughput of 1.6Mtpa. The company operated the mine at an annualised rate of 2Mtpa for the first nine months of 2023, which would have required it to partially suspend activities to remain within the permitted rate if the appeal had not succeeded.

"This ruling is consistent with our excellent environmental performance at Kittila, where we are well below the environmental emission limits," said Agnico Eagle Mines chief executive Ammar Al-Joundi.

Kittila's annual production guidance range is 190,000-210,000oz. The additional ounces mean the company expects to complete the year towards the top end of its 3.24-3.44Moz guidance for 2023

The ruling relates to an appeal against the 2020 grant of environmental and water permits by the Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland to enlarge the CIL2 tailings storage facility, expand operations to 2Mtpa and build a new discharge waterline. The appeals were granted, in part, in July 2022, which returned the permits for reconsideration by the Regional State Administrative Agency. In August 2022, Agnico appealed the decisions and requested that the permits be restored.