Agnico Eagle Mines : Lapa Mine Sets the Gold Standard for Mine Closure and Reclamation
August 18, 2022 at 09:44 am EDT
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The Lapa Mine may have officially ceased production in 2018, but its legacy lives on at Agnico Eagle. The mine was designed and operated with the environment and future land use in mind, bringing to life the phrase "sustainable development".
Located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, the Lapa underground mine poured its first gold on May 7, 2009 and began commercial production the same month. It was known as the 'Little Mine that Could' for its ability to overcome technical challenges, beat targets and extend its operating life. Lapa operated for nearly 10 years, producing over 872,000 ounces of gold.
Equally valuable to its operational success was the influence Lapa had on Agnico Eagle's company-wide approach to sustainable development. Lapa demonstrated that a mine, if designed from the outset with the environment in mind, can significantly reduce the impact on the environment that surrounds it.
"As an industry we talk a lot about sustainable development, but what does it really mean? It means that the mine is designed from the beginning with its end in mind but also where it will fit in a broader context both for the company and the communities," said Michel Julien Vice President Environment and Critical Infrastructure. "Right from the project feasibility stage, we have used a life-cycle approach to our work where legacy became an integral part of the project from an environmental, operational and financial perspective."
Beyond the environmental scope, the Lapa closure was a success in other ways. For example, a 'second life' was found for much of Lapa's surface and underground equipment, as well as some of its waste materials, which are now being used at other Agnico Eagle mine sites. In addition, the extensive planning and collaborative work of Lapa's Human Resources team with other operations led to a truly remarkable outcome - no employees lost their job as a result of the mine's closure, since all permanent employees were given the opportunity to transfer to other Agnico Eagle operations.
Lapa's complete life cycle and small footprint approach to mining is not only an important piece of Agnico Eagle's legacy, it also remains a model in the industry today.
See Closure and Reclamation in Action
We invite you to watch our 5-part video series that illustrates the full story of Lapa's closure and reclamation process:
Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited published this content on 18 August 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 August 2022 13:43:02 UTC.
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is a Canada-based gold mining company, which is engaged in producing precious metals from operations in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico. The Company has a pipeline of exploration and development projects in these countries as well as in the United States. Its operations include Canadian Malartic Complex, Detour Lake, Fosterville, Goldex, Kittila, La India, LaRonde Complex, Macassa, Meadowbank Complex, Meliadine and Pinos Altos. Its exploration site includes Anza, Barsele, Delta, Douay/Joutel, Kirkland Lake Regional, Kuotko, Monument Bay and others. The Canadian Malartic Complex is located over 25 kilometers (km) west of Val-dâOr in northwestern Quebec, Canada. The Detour Lake operation is located in northeastern Ontario, over 300 km northeast of Timmins and 185 km by road northeast of Cochrane, within the northernmost Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The Fosterville mine is a high-grade, low-cost underground gold mine, located 20 km from the city of Bendigo.
AGNICO EAGLE MINES LIMITED 
