In everything we do, Agnico-Eagle is guided by a commitment to the health and well-being of employees, a deep respect for the natural environment, and a concern for the vitality of the communities in which we live and work.
 
     
     
Safety
Agnico-Eagle places the highest priority on the safety of our employees and contractors at all locations. Our proactive safety programs are designed to prepare people for any situation they may encounter in the course of operations.

This past year, we maintained our high standard of health and safety performance, completing the year without a single lost-time injury underground at LaRonde. This translates into more than 1.4 million injury-free hours worked by our employees.

We are also extremely proud of our mine rescue team who, for the second consecutive year, won the prestigious Quebec Mine Rescue competition. The team was the first repeat winner in the event’s 51-year history.

Environment
By the very nature of our business, we depend on the natural environment to deliver societal value and achieve financial success. We also recognize that strong environmental performance is critical to maintaining our license to operate.

In 2006, after more than two years of discussions, and in line with our philosophy of sustainable development of mineral resources, Agnico-Eagle entered into a partnership with the Quebec government to use tailings from our Goldex mine to rehabilitate the abandoned Manitou mine and tailings pond sites, located 22 kilometres east of Goldex. The rehabilitation will take place over the life of the Goldex project. In total, more than 20 million tonnes of neutralizing tailings from Goldex will be deposited to cover more than 10 million tonnes of acid-generating Manitou tailings. The project will start in 2007 with the construction of dikes to contain the Manitou tailings, thus creating a tailings pond for Goldex tailings.

Environmental Policy
It is the policy of Agnico-Eagle to protect the environment, public health and safety, and natural resources by conducting operations in an environmentally sound manner while pursuing continuous improvement of our environmental performance. To achieve these goals, we are committed to:

  • Assessing the potential environmental impacts of all new undertakings with an objective of minimizing them
  • Designing and operating our facilities to ensure that effective controls are in place to minimize the risks to health, safety, and the environment
  • Maintaining emergency response plans to minimize the impacts of unforeseen events
  • Providing professional environmental staff to plan and direct environmental compliance programs and to assist in training and education activities
  • Ensuring that environmental factors are considered in the purchase of equipment and materials
  • Ensuring that contractors operate according to our environmental policy and procedures
  • Complying with all applicable environmental laws and regulations
  • Communicating with employees, the public, government agencies, and other stakeholders on activities involving health, safety, and the environment
  • Regularly verifying environmental performance and implementing any required corrective action
  • Minimizing the generation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and ensuring proper disposal of all wastes
  • Implementing measures to conserve natural resources such as water
  • Rehabilitating sites in accordance with regulatory criteria and within the established timeframe
 
 
 
Agnico-Eagle employees strive to conduct all mining operations using environmental best practices. We are proud of our water recycling record, which results in the use of less than 10% fresh water at our LaRonde operations.

Throughout 2006, we successfully operated a new state-of-the-art, biological water treatment facility designed to ensure that water released back into the environment meets all applicable federal and provincial water quality standards.