Form 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the Month of APRIL 2003
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AGNICO-EAGLE MINES LIMITED
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(Translation of registrant's name into English)
145 KING STREET EAST, SUITE 500, TORONTO, ONTARIO M5C 2Y7
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[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file
annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.]
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
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[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the
information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes No X
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[If "YES" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):82-____________
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
AGNICO-EAGLE MINES LIMITED
Date: MAY 5, 2003 By: (SIGNED) DAVID GAROFALO
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Vice-President, Finance and
Chief Financial Officer
[AGNICO EAGLE LOGO]=====N=E=W=S==R=E=L=E=A=S=E==================================
STOCK SYMBOLS: AEM (NYSE) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
AGE (TSX) BARRY LANDEN, V.P. CORPORATE AFFAIRS
AGNICO-EAGLE MINES LIMITED
(416) 947-1212
(ALL AMOUNTS EXPRESSED IN U.S. DOLLARS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
AGNICO-EAGLE TO OWN 100% OF LAPA GOLD DEPOSIT
ANNOUNCES UPDATED DRILLING AND EXTENSION OF DEPOSIT
FURTHER EXPANDS DOMINANT REGIONAL LAND POSITION
Toronto, Canada (April 24, 2003) - AGNICO-EAGLE MINES LIMITED today announced a
number of significant positive developments with regard to its regional growth
strategy:
O Increase in the Company's ownership in the Lapa property to 100% by
acquiring Breakwater Resources Ltd.'s interest.
O Expansion of the Lapa deposit with five drills currently testing the
Contact Zone.
O Acquisition of additional properties along the Cadillac-Larder Lake
Break.
HIGH-GRADE GOLD OUNCES ACQUIRED AND DISCOVERED ECONOMICALLY
Agnico-Eagle has agreed to acquire, subject to the completion of a definitive
legal agreement, Breakwater's joint venture interest in the Lapa high-grade gold
discovery, located seven miles east of the LaRonde Mine in northwestern Quebec.
Under the terms of the arrangement, Agnico-Eagle will increase its ownership
interest to 100% for consideration of $8.925 million and net smelter royalties
ranging from 0.5% to 1.0%. An additional $1 million will be payable to
Breakwater if Lapa's published inferred mineral resource reaches 2 million
ounces of gold. Of the total potential cash consideration of $9.925 million, $2
million will be creditable against future net smelter royalties.
In the course of earning an 80% interest in the property under an option
agreement with Breakwater, Agnico-Eagle outlined a deposit on Lapa in late 2002
that is currently known to host an inferred mineral resource of 3.3 million tons
grading 0.25 ounces per ton of gold, containing 816,000 ounces of gold (cut to
1.5 oz./t). Including acquisition costs and exploration spending conducted by
Agnico-Eagle to date, the discovery costs to the Company of this deposit is
approximately $11 per ounce of gold based on the current inferred mineral
resource.
ACCELERATED DRILLING PROGRAM ON LAPA EXPANDING HIGH-GRADE ZONE
Agnico-Eagle is conducting a $2.5 million exploration program on Lapa in 2003
with five drills in operation. Two drills are currently probing the eastern
limit as well as at depth (drill holes 118-03-20 & 17A), a third on increasing
the drill hole density within the known inferred mineral resource
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outline (drill hole 118-03-19), a fourth drill obtaining additional samples for
metallurgical testing (drill hole TML-01) and the last exploring the deposit at
depth (drill hole 118-03-16A).
Two additional results have been obtained since the last public update in
February. They have been summarized below:
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TRUE GOLD(OZ/TON)
DRILL HOLE THICKNESS(FT) FROM TO CUT(1.5 OZ) UNCUT
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118-03-16 12.1 4,186.0 4,203.4 0.39 0.52*
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118-03-18B 9.2 2,046.9 2,061.3 0.20 0.20*
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*preliminary results
The most interesting result was obtained in drill hole 118-03-16, targeted to
test the downward eastern extension of drill hole 118-03-04A, which had
previously intersected 0.21 ounces of gold over a true thickness of 99.1 feet
(cut to 1.5 oz./t). The most recent result intersected the Contact Zone at a
depth of 3,800 feet below surface, or 800 feet below and to the east of the
deepest previous intersection. The overall mineralized envelope in this latest
intersection was 75 feet.
As a result, the Contact Zone has been traced over a vertical distance of 2,800
feet and a horizontal distance of 1,600 feet. Current ly drill hole 118-03-16A
is in progress to test the area 200 feet above drill hole 118-03-16 between the
two deepest intercepts returned to date. Further positive results in this area
could have a significant impact on the overall resource estimate of the Contact
Zone.
Drill hole 118-03-18B was an infill drill hole drilled in the upper western
sector of the deposit. The drill hole essentially confirmed previous drilling
results.
Drill hole 118-03-17 (not disclosed above) was drilled at a depth of 3,300 feet
below surface to test the eastern and depth extension of the Contact Zone. The
drill hole was abandoned due to failure of the drill string. However, the drill
hole did encounter erratic gold mineralization with values up to 0.25 ounces of
gold per ton. The drill hole did not reach the target area prior to the drill
string failure. A wedge cut is currently being drilled 100 feet above drill hole
118-03-17.
Initial metallurgical testing on small drill core samples has yielded favourable
results. Test work on a larger sample to be extracted from the current drilling
program is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter. In
addition, the Company expects to release an updated mineral resource calculation
and further drilling results prior to its Annual General Meeting on June 19.
All Lapa drill core is BQ caliber and is logged at the LaRonde Mine by a senior
project geologist for the Company's Exploration Division, who is fully qualified
per the standards outlined in National Instrument 43-101. The drill core is
sawed in half with one half sent to a commercial laboratory and the other half
retained for future reference. Upon reception of the assay results, the pulps
and rejects are recovered and submitted to a second laboratory for check-assay
purposes. The gold assaying method uses a 30-gram sample by Fire Assays or
Metallic Sieve finish as requested by the project geologist. The laboratories
used are Bourlamaque Assay Laboratories Ltd., Val d'Or, Quebec, and Expert
Laboratories Inc., Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.
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STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS OF PROPERTY ON PROLIFIC BELT CONTINUES
In the first quarter, the Company also acquired 100% of the Normand Lake and
Chibex North Properties, all located on the same geological trend as Lapa.
Chibex North is located immediately south of and adjacent to Lapa. Agnico-Eagle
has also agreed to acquire Breakwater's 66 2/3% interest in the Chibex South
Property for $75,000 and a 0.66% net smelter royalty. Chibex South is located
south of and adjacent to Chibex North. Agnico-Eagle now controls properties
covering 12 miles on the geological contact that hosts the Lapa Contact Zone.
With these property acquisitions, Agnico-Eagle's land package in northwestern
Quebec has been expanded to 2,467 hectacres and is strategically located along
two of the most prolific gold mining trends, the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break
hosting most of the vein type deposits from Val d'Or, in Northwestern Quebec to
the Kirkland Lake District in Northeastern Ontario as well as the
Cadillac-Bousquet Belt which hosts the LaRonde deposits. The Cadillac-Larder
Lake Break is one of North America's most prolific gold mining trends.
The illustrations that detail the results presented in this news release can be
viewed and downloaded from the Company's website www.agnico-eagle.com (PRESS
RELEASE) or:
http://files.newswire.ca/3/geology.pdf
http://files.newswire.ca/3/longitudinal.pdf
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" (within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995)
that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that
such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Risks and
uncertainties are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Information Form (AIF) filed with certain Canadian securities regulators
(including the Ontario and Quebec Securities Commissions) and with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (as Form 20-F).
Agnico-Eagle is a long established Canadian gold producer with operations
located in northwestern Quebec and exploration and development activities in
eastern Canada and the southwestern United States. Agnico-Eagle's operating
history includes over three decades of cont inuous gold production, primarily
from underground mining operations. Agnico-Eagle's LaRonde Mine in Quebec is
Canada's largest gold deposit. The Company has full exposure to higher gold
prices consistent with its policy of no forward gold sales. It has paid a cash
dividend for 23 consecutive years.
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