GOLD – Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. July 30 provided an update on its 2014 exploration activities. Highlights include expansion of a gold discovery at the IVR property, located 50 kilometers northwest of the company’s Meadowbank gold mine in Nunavut. A total of 48 drill holes (7,423 meters) have been completed since the program began in 2013. A second phase of drilling (anticipated 20,000 meters) has recently begun. The 408-square-kilometre IVR property is located within Inuit Owned Land and a 100 percent interest was acquired in April 2013, subject to a mineral exploration agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Agnico Eagle ran a program to evaluate the property’s gold potential from July to October 2013 that included ground geophysics, prospecting, mapping and two campaigns of diamond drilling. Fourteen drill holes were completed in 2013 and another 34 drill holes were drilled in the first half of 2014. These two campaigns represent a total of 7,423 meters of drilling. Agnico Eagle’s work has revealed multiple northeast-trending structures with gold-bearing sulfide-rich lenses of mineralization within volcano-sedimentary rocks. Three mineralized corridors were recognized over 400 meters of strike length in 2013. A first phase of shallow drilling (to 100 meters depth) completed in 2014 has extended the known mineralized corridors and discovered a fourth corridor to the south. Based on the current information, Agnico said all structures are open in all directions including at depth. The highest grade results to date at IVR are from two holes at the R zone: IVR14-031 with 26.1 g/t gold over 4.8 meters at 89 meters depth, and hole IVR14-028 with 27.6 g/t gold over 3.0 meters at 58 meters depth. Along the same R zone structure to the southwest are two more intersections: Hole IVR13-004 with 6.2 g/t gold over 5.7 meters at 28 meters depth, and hole IVR13-008 with 6.6 g/t gold over 7.2 meters at 72 meters depth and 9.8 g/t gold over 3.5 meters at 92 meters depth. On the separate Whale Tail structure to the southeast is hole IVR14-015 grading 10.5 g/t gold over 3.5 meters at 43 meters depth. Hole IVR14-044 intersected the “I” zone structure to the north, grading 8.7 g/t gold over 5.8 meters at 15 meters below surface. Hole IVR14-039 includes an intercept in the V zone of 3.7 g/t gold over 7.4 meters at 23 meters depth. All intercepts reported for the IVR project show capped grades over estimated true widths, based on a preliminary geological interpretation. A second phase of drilling (about 20,000 meters) has recently commenced. Further ground has been acquired through staking, increasing the land position by another 6,279 hectares. A recent airborne VTEM plus Time-Domain electromagnetic survey covering about 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) detected a strong magnetic-electromagnetic anomaly stretching over at least seven kilometers including the current exploration drilling area. Prospecting and sampling programs have been initiated over the entire area, focusing on targets outlined by the geophysical survey. In the past week, prospecting has defined a 600-meter-long glacial boulder field, 3.5 kilometers west of the mineralized zones where drilling is currently taking place. The boulders, some of which show visible gold, could have been sourced from the south, within the strong mag-EM anomaly. Drilling is planned to investigate this new sector using a third drill rig. “Although it is still early days, the new IVR discovery and the deep drill hole at Kittila could represent exciting new developments for our northern business platform,” said Agnico Eagle President and CEO Sean Boyd. “We are highly encouraged by the results at both projects, and we will be working hard to evaluate the upside potential of these discoveries and determine what potential impact they may have on our current operations.”

Meadowbank

The Meadowbank mill processed an average of 11,549 tons per day in the second quarter of 2014. This compares with 11,303 tpd in the second quarter of 2013. The record throughput in the 2014 period is largely due to the continued optimization of the mine plan and improved equipment availability. The secondary crusher has consistently exceeded the initial design rate of 8,500 tpd since startup. Minesite costs per metric ton were C$71 in the second quarter of 2014, compared with C$83 per metric ton in the second quarter of 2013. Costs are lower in the 2014 period due to more ore processed in 2014 versus 2013, improved productivity, as well as ongoing cost reduction initiatives. In addition, seasonal costs were deferred into the second half of 2014.

Meliadine

Recent drilling at Meliadine is expected to further expand the resource base of that property. In the first half of 2014, 118 exploration and conversion drill holes totaling 30,900 meters were completed. The exploration ramp has been extended by 527 meters. Recent results are expected to expand gold resources at the Pump, Wesmeg/Normeg and Wolf deposits. Meliadine has the company’s largest and fastest-growing high-grade complement of reserves, plus resources. An updated technical study is expected in late 2014 or early 2015. Meanwhile, underground development, exploration, technical studies and permitting have continued in the second quarter of 2014 at the Meliadine project near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. The Meliadine project has the company’s largest and fastest-growing high-grade complement of reserves plus resources. Probable reserves total 2.8 million ounces of gold (12.0 million metric tons at a grade of 7.4 g/t), while indicated resources are 3.1 million oz of gold (19.0 million metric tons at 5.1 g/t) and inferred resources are 2.7 million oz of gold (11.7 million metric tons at 7.2 g/t). Development of the exploration ramp at Meliadine has continued, adding 301 meters length in the second quarter of 2014, for a total of 527 meters of ramp constructed in 2014 to a depth of 168 meters below surface. The full-year budget is 1,440 meters of ramp development (to a depth of 225 meters below surface). Construction of the ventilation raise collar on surface has been completed; excavation of the Level 135-to-Surface ventilation raise using the Alimak has started, with 63 meters completed in the quarter. Three drill rigs have been active on the surface drill program, which began in late February. To the end of June, the rigs completed 118 holes (30,900 meters) of conversion drilling (Wesmeg/Normeg and Tiriganiaq zones) and exploration drilling (Pump, Discovery, Wolf zones). The drilling program for this year is expected to be completed by the end of July. These results will be incorporated into a new mineral reserve and resource estimate, which will be used in the updated technical report. The conversion drilling has confirmed the grade and width of the near-surface portion of the Wesmeg/Normeg deposits. Some of the best recent intercepts are shown in the table below, including hole M14-2226 with 12.5 g/t gold (capped) over 5.3 meters (estimated true width) at 50 meters depth. Significant new gold mineralization was discovered in the Pump zone, showing its potential to host additional high-grade resources, including hole M14-2220 that yielded 19.8 g/t gold (capped) over 5.2 meters (estimated true width) at 12 meters depth. A resumption of exploration at the Wolf deposit yielded positive results including an 11.0-metre-long intercept (estimated true width) grading 8.4 g/t gold (capped) at 228 meters depth (hole M14-2292). The best intercepts from these two deposits are shown in the table below. Also refer to the Meliadine project geology map for drill collar locations and the longitudinal sections of the Pump and Wolf deposits. The permitting team has delivered the Final Environmental Impact Statement, and the technical review is currently in progress. Work continues on the updated technical report, with completion of the study expected in late 2014 or early 2015.

Greyhound

In June 2014, Agnico Eagle optioned a new property called Greyhound from Aura Silver Resources Inc. straddling the road that connects the Meadowbank mine in Nunavut with the community of Baker Lake, about 35 kilometers south of the mine. Under the terms of the option agreement, Agnico Eagle can acquire an initial 51 percent interest by making cash payments totaling C$250,000 and completing C$1.75 million in exploration expenditures before May 31, 2017, with an option to increase its interest to 70 percent by making additional cash payments totaling C$250,000 and completing an additional C$5.0 million in exploration expenditures. The property is underlain by Archean supracrustal rocks of the Woodburn Lake group. Previous exploration has outlined gold, silver and base metal mineralization in an area known as Aura Lake. In July, a program consisting of 1,000 meters of drilling commenced to test three promising target areas on the property.

Production

Agnico Eagle also reported that payable production in the second quarter of 2014 was 118,161 ounces of gold at total cash costs per ounce of $577 on a by-product basis. This compares with payable production in the second quarter of 2013 of 91,873 ounces of gold at total cash costs per ounce of $912 on a by-product basis. The company said this increase in year over year production and lower total cash costs reflects higher grades, increased throughput, higher recoveries, and lower mine-site costs per metric ton compared to the previous period.