Agnico Eagle Mines Limited provided update on 2026 exploration plans. In 2026, the company's total exploration expenditures and project expenses are expected to be between $565 million and $635 million, with a mid-point of $600 million. The total exploration expenditures include estimated capitalized exploration of $310 million and estimated exploration and corporate development expenses of $290 million, which are comprised of $195.8 million for expensed exploration and $94.2 million for project technical evaluations, technical services and other corporate expenses.
The Company's exploration focus remains on extending mine life at existing operations, testing near-mine opportunities and advancing key value driver projects. Exploration priorities for 2026 include mineral resource conversion and expansion at the Detour Lake underground project and East Gouldie at Canadian Malartic, and advancing Hope Bay. The Company expects to spend approximately $32.6 million for 190,700 metres of drilling at Canadian Malartic in 2026 with up to 20 drill rigs active at surface and underground to further assess the full potential of the Odyssey mine area and throughout the Canadian Malartic property package.
The primary exploration targets remain the lateral extensions of the East Gouldie deposit and the Eclipse zone while at the Odyssey South and North zones infill drilling and the investigation of potential lateral extensions will continue. Studies are ongoing at the East Malartic deposit with the objective of converting mineral resources into mineral reserves as part of the Odyssey underground mine. An additional $11 million for 45,000 metres of drilling will be spent in the Marban area for exploration and condemnation drilling around the Marban deposit under potential mining infrastructure, as well as for the purposes of mineral resource conversion and expansion of the Marban deposit.
The Company expects to spend approximately $16.3 million for 44,700 metres of drilling at LaRonde in 2026, including $3.7 million for 23,800 metres of expensed drilling and $3.8 million for 20,900 metres of capitalized drilling. Approximately $8.8 million of expensed exploration is budgeted in 2026 to extend the exploration drifts at levels 9 and 215 by a combined 1,000 metres this year to allow for the development of platforms for future exploration drilling programs. The Company expects to spend approximately $8.9 million for 65,800 metres of drilling at Goldex in 2026, including $6.6 million on capitalized drilling that will be mainly focused on the conversion and extension of the South and Deep 2 zones. The remaining $2.3 million is for 15,800 metres of exploration drilling, including testing multiple extensional targets laterally and at depth of the main mining areas.
Additionally, a regional exploration program will drill a total of 20,000 metres on the new Alpha and Akasaba properties, which were acquired as part of the acquisition of O3 Mining. Programs include validation and conversion drilling on the Bulldog deposit, located approximately 12 kilometres east of Goldex, and validation, conversion and expansion drilling at Akasaba and Akasaba West, located 22 kilometres east of Goldex. The Company expects to spend approximately $34.2 million for 175,000 metres of drilling at Detour Lake in 2026, including $31.3 million for 165,000 metres of capitalized drilling to continue converting the inferred mineral resources into indicated mineral resources as well as the mineral potential in the western extension of the orebody into inferred mineral resources.
For the Detour Lake underground project in 2026, an additional $7 million is budgeted for 35,800 metres of capitalized drilling and $62 million is budgeted for advancement of the exploration ramp and related infrastructure. Surface diamond drilling is expected to continue mineral resource conversion in 2026 and the drill program will be augmented by underground drilling from new underground drill stations as they become available. Approximately $2.9 million is budgeted for 10,000 metres of regional drilling in 2026 to explore satellite targets on the Company's large land position on the Detour Lake property.
The Company expects to spend approximately $36.5 million for 202,000 metres of capitalized drilling at Macassa in 2026 with the objective of increasing and upgrading mineral resources. The exploration program will continue to build the mineral resource base to the east in the SMC East and Main Break areas, to the west in the Lower/West SMC area and at shallower depths in the AK deposit. The Company is also initiating a deep exploration program to investigate the potential mineralization down to 3,000 metres depth from a surface exploration drill platform, targeting the Main Break and other potential parallel structures below the former Lake Shore mine located 2,300 metres east of the #4 shaft at Macassa.
In 2026, the Company expects to spend approximately $56.1 million at Upper Beaver, including approximately $52 million on the exploration ramp, exploration shaft and the first bulk sample, and approximately $4.1 million for 10,500 metres of high-intensity drilling. The bulk sample will be taken from the ramp at a depth of 160 metres from the upper level of the deposit, which is dominated by basaltic host lithologies, and will provide material for testing selective mining assumptions in this area of the deposit. Exploration results from recent years at Upper Beaver show the potential to increase the mineral resources and to convert inferred mineral resources at depth using underground access via the planned exploration shaft and ramp infrastructure.
Regional exploration will continue to develop and advance the pipeline of targets in the Kirkland Lake area. Exploration work will continue to leverage the extensive database available on the Hammond Reef property to identify potential satellite mineralization in the vicinity of the main deposit. During 2026, $11.2 million is budgeted for project studies at Hammond Reef, to be potentially supplemented by exploration activities.
Historical mining and exploration data across the property package will continue to be reviewed in 2026, including previously identified high-priority exploration targets at past-producing assets.
