Gold Production
Still riding the wave
If there is one story that permeated every discussion during GBR’s research for this report, it is the price of gold. In GBR’s reporting last year, companies were described as “surfing on a high gold price” of over US$2,500/oz (around US$500/oz more than the previous year, when it was already described as high). In 2025, those waves had morphed into tsunamis: Having peaked at US$3,500 in April 2025, it moved between US$3,200-3,400 throughout the summer months, before rallying to yet another a new all-time high in excess of US$3,600 in early September.
Gold’s rise-and-rise has been driven by numerous factors. Worries spurred by recent years’ turbulent macroeconomics, inflation, and increasing debt around the globe; uncertainty in US economic policy and the robustness of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency; and geopolitical tensions breaking out into wars, both military and commercial. Seeking a safe haven, investors have flocked to gold in their droves, with a climbing price only providing more momentum to drive increased retail investor interest.
For those in the gold-producing world, this all must make for enjoyable reading. 2024 and 2025’s incredible rally on the precious metal has revolutionized the economics of gold production. Many operators saw record or near-record profits and output, as they rapidly ramped up their operations in order to take advantage of the buoyant market. Agnico Eagle, Québec and Canada’s largest and the world’s 3rd largest gold producer, was among them. The company recorded its highest-ever total annual gold production (3.48 million oz) and free cash flow (US$570 million), while decreasing its net debt by US$1.3 billion. Québec accounted for just short of a third of its global gold production, with a total of 1.09 million oz spread across its LaRonde, Canadian Malartic and Goldex sites representing almost a 4% boost over the previous year’s 1.05 million oz.
For Eldorado Gold, Sylvain Lehoux, the company’s VP for Canada, called 2024 the “best year ever” at its Lamaque operation in Québec. Production at Lamaque totaled 196,538 oz, exceeding Eldorado’s annual guidance, growing 11% year-over-year, and cresting a total of 1 million oz since the mine began production in 2019. Eldorado is also developing its Ormaque deposit, part of the Lamaque complex, which had its inaugural reserve declared in December 2024 at 619,000 oz. It is targeting production at Ormaque in 2028. Lehoux was jubilant about the current moment in the gold space: “Now is the perfect time to be building a gold mine. Gold’s price rise through 2024 has been driving margins, expansion and strong cash flow, above our expectations.”
IAMGOLD’s 2024 saw success on multiple fronts, too: The ramp-up of production at its Côté mine in Ontario and, in Québec, a return to full-scale production at Westwood and the 100% consolidation of its stake in its Nelligan project. Westwood was forced to close in 2020 following seismic activity, prompting a ‘back to the drawing board’ redesign of its mining methodology. Its production of 134,000 oz in 2024 – 44% more than in 2023’s 93,000 oz – marked a return to its guidance production levels in 2019, accompanied by substantially reduced seismic disturbance. The mine generated US$100 million in free cash flow in 2024. Meanwhile, at Nelligan, IAMGOLD has outlined 9 million oz of indicated and inferred resources. “Within a few years, I believe Nelligan may rank among the largest gold resources not only in Québec, but in Canada,” predicted Renaud Adams, IAMGOLD’s CEO. Overall, the company achieved record revenue in 2024 of US$1.63 billion.
Presenting only limited variation on this theme, Hecla Mining also generated record sales of US$929.9 million in 2024. However, while the value of its sales from the Casa Berardi mine in Québec increased by 18% compared to 2023, gold’s heightened price masked what was a 4% decline in production, from 90,363 oz to 86,648 oz, which Hecla attributed to lower surface grades. In 2025, the mine is expected to transition to a surface-only operation, which the company anticipated would deliver improved economics thanks to a lower strip ratio. Production at Casa Berardi’s already-existing open pit is expected to continue until 2027, after which it will pause for several years due to the development of new pits.
"Within a few years, I believe Nelligan may rank among the largest gold resources not only in Québec, but in Canada." Renaud Adams, President and CEO, IAMGOLD
Wesdome achieved all-time records in its annual production, revenue, net income and free cash flow in 2024, while growing its post-depletion mineral reserves by 5%. At its Kiena mine in Québec the company saw its highest quarterly gold production since its 2021 restart of the mine, which had been on care and maintenance since 2013, reaching 22,865 oz. It came in large part due to the first ore and ramp-up of production from the 129-level mining horizon, following the development of a new ramp. Full-year production at Kiena totaled 77,472 oz of gold in 2024, of a total of 172,033 oz across the company’s operations.
Another of 2024’s major gold stories in Québec was the sale of the Éléonore mine by Newmont. Newly-incorporated British private equity firm Dhilmar Ltd paid US$795 million in cash for the mine in November 2024. Described by Newmont, the world’s largest gold mining company, as a “non-core” asset, Éléonore’s sale came in a wave of six international divestments that raised a total of US$3.6 billion. 2024’s full-year production at the mine of 240,000 oz represented a 3% increase over its 2023 output. Details on Dhilmar’s plans for Éléonore are scarce: in July 2025 the company did not yet have a functioning website, though it appeared to have retained a number of senior staff from Newmont’s operations, and hired a new general manager for the mine in April 2025.
Québec’s gold producers seem to be enjoying their moment in the sun. With many analysts predicting gold’s price to continue rising further, it remains to be seen what superlatives will be applied to its heights in this report’s next edition. In the meantime, though, producers are remaining cautious in their optimism – accelerating where they can, but ensuring to maintain and develop sustainable operations, while attempting to replenish the reserves they are depleting in this new-age gold rush.
"Now is the perfect time to be building a gold mine. Gold’s price rise has been driving margin expansion and strong cash flow, above our expectations." Sylvain Lehoux, VP Canada, Eldorado Gold
Atlantic prospects aplenty
Although Atlantic Canada has seen varying levels of gold mining for centuries, benefitting from Appalachian orogenic geology that stretches from Ireland to Canada, operating mines have been few and far between in recent years in the region. Across Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the only producing gold mine in operation in the last five years was the Touqouy open-pit, which ceased production in 2023. Its operator, St Barbara, announced its intent to divest all its Canadian assets, including Touquoy, in February 2025. In New Brunswick, though some gold has been produced as a base metal by-product, the province has never hosted a primarily gold-producing mine.
All that is set to change. The Valentine mine, located in Newfoundland and acquired by Equinox Gold in its merger with Calibre Mining in 2025, is expected to pour its first gold in Q3 2025. The mine’s 2022 feasibility study indicated an annual production of 195,000 oz of gold for 12 years of a 14-year mine life, with 51.6 million tonnes of reserves at 1.62 g/t delivering 2.7 million oz of gold in total. Combined with its Greenstone mine in Ontario, Equinox’s total production at nameplate capacity across the two operations would make it Canada’s second-largest gold producer.
"New Brunswick has never had a gold mine. For Kinross, the Williams Brook project clearly shows sufficient promise to enter a brand new jurisdiction for the company." Marcel Robillard, President and CEO, Puma Exploration
In Nova Scotia, meanwhile, NexGold received Industrial Approval, one of the project's last key permits, for its Goldboro site in late August 2025. NexGold merged with Signal Gold in late 2024, with their combined portfolio comprising Goldboro and the Goliath gold complex in Ontario. The Goldboro project’s 2022 feasibility study outlined an annual production of 100,000 oz for nearly 11 years, based on reserves of 15.8 million tonnes at 2.26 g/t gold – for a total of 1.15 million oz of gold. Goldboro’s industrial approval paves the way for its construction, following nearly two years of assessment by Nova Scotia’s government.
Maritime Resources’ Hammerdown Gold project is another located in Newfoundland. Maritime is restarting the former Hammerdown mine, which was in operation between 2000 and 2004. Utilizing the Pine Cove Mill, which Maritime has also restarted, the company already poured its first gold, recovering 281.1 oz from stockpiles at the mill site. In New Brunswick, Puma Exploration’s Williams Brook project, though still in its early stages, has attracted the attention of major gold producer Kinross, sending a signal of interest in the province’s potential.
While Newfoundland’s absence of gold production in recent years is set to be resolved imminently, new gold prospects have been much-welcomed in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, providing some fresh momentum for the provinces’ re-emerging mining sectors.
Article header image by Oleh at Adobe Stock