How an innovative mindset is helping Agnico Eagle make better decisions for our people, our business, and the environment.

Agnico Eagle is proud to be a partner of choice within the global mining industry – a sustainability leader committed to ensuring every ounce of gold we produce is mined safely and responsibly.

As we continue to build our world-class business, we must also balance these commitments with market demands and stringent production targets.

Raymond Yip, Agnico Eagle’s Vice President of Digital Transformation says, "Technology and data are at the forefront of the change to increase productivity, efficiencies, and lower operating costs. By adopting an innovative mindset, we are able to maintain our competitive edge, share best practices, build synergies, and be proactive in maintaining our production and sustainability standards.” 

Digital Transformation Team

The key, Raymond says, is to transform the way we gather and use information so that we get the right information to the right people at the right time. This will allow us to make data-driven decisions for our people, our business, and the environment. Agnico Eagle’s new Digital Transformation team is working to make that happen.

The team combines the talents of employees across various disciplines such as engineering, geology, metallurgy, Information Technology/Operational Technology, as well as subject matter experts, and has worked to establish the company’s first Monitoring Operations Centre (MOC) in the Abitibi region, which is the foundation of Agnico Eagle’s digital transformation journey. 

The team is charged with adopting and implementing the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to analyze past data patterns and trends to predict future behavior. Raymond says, "We expect to apply these digital tools to all areas of the business. This journey is a big leap forward into the future. It’s about transforming the way we work to ultimately bring value to the business."

Monitoring Operations Centre

The first Monitoring Operation Centre (MOC) was launched in summer 2023 at the Preissac office (CSD) for the Abitibi region. The centre allows us to make integrated business decisions at both the operational and centralized levels. It will enable us to monitor our entire value chain, respond quickly to site-level problems, and maintain operational excellence.

"Right now, we can’t monitor every aspect of our operations and production environment,” says Sébastien Laflamme, Advisor, Digital Transformation. The MOC – with the latest digital technology – will give us that in-depth monitoring capacity. It will bring everyone together in one centre and enhance their ability to make more informed and integrated decisions. It will allow the team, for example, to ask a question such as, ‘If we use fewer explosives at the mine face, does the crusher need more energy to break the ore?’ In other words, what is the impact of my decision on your department?"

Establishing Regional MOCs

Working closely with the LaRonde team, new job roles and functions have been identified and defined to accelerate the concept. The first full-time employees are now working out of the MOC, with additional job functions such as reliability and mine planning transferring from the mine site to the centre in the coming months. Teleremote operations will also slowly transition to the centre, furthering our desire to improve safety and minimize exposure of our workers.

Take a deeper look into Agnico Eagle’s first MOC. Hear from people like Nancy Guay VP, Technology Optimization and Innovation and Christian Goulet, General Manager, LaRonde Complex, on how our MOC will keep Agnico Eagle at the forefront of the digital transformation and a leader in the gold industry.

With the first regional MOC having been established for the Abitibi region, the Digital Transformation team will replicate the model for other regions where Agnico Eagle operates. The team is currently working with our Ontario region to develop a second MOC at Detour Lake Mine, with a target to have it established in 2024.  

Raymond comments, “While these initiatives are about technology, in my mind this is really a change management endeavour. We’ll need the support of our people to make it a success.  The centre exists to give our people the tools and information they need to make better decisions for our workplace, and for our company.”