The head of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM.TO) said the gold miner is expecting to see record production in the coming year as two new mines in Nunavut go online.

Agnico CEO and Vice-Chairman Sean Boyd told BNN Bloomberg the company is nearing an “inflection point” in production, earnings per share, and cash flow per share, as operations at its Meliadine and Amaruq projects are on track to begin in the third quarter of this year.  

“We expect to set record production this year as we bring those two projects online,” Boyd said in an interview Friday, noting the miner expects to produce 1.75 million ounces of gold this year, and two million ounces by 2020.

Toronto-based Agnico Eagle reported a 18 per cent decline in first-quarter profit Thursday on lower gold prices and decreased production as its Meadowbank mine in Nunuvut nears the end of its life. The company reported net income of US$37 million or 16 cents per share in the three months ended March 31, down from US$44 million or 19 cents per share during the same period a year ago.

As the company ramps up production plans in Nunavut, Boyd reiterated previous calls for governments to invest in infrastructure in Canada’s north, something he was hoping to see in the last federal budget.

“We have this tremendous opportunity here in Canada – we’re blessed with resources,” Boyd said. “We need a policy of investment and infrastructure, particularly in the north, where we see tremendous opportunity.”

“We have to power all of these mines with diesel, there’s no alternative at the moment. So we see great potential to partner with governments to build the cleaner renewable energy infrastructure to open up the north for responsible resource development.”

Boyd added that there’s a way to take advantage of Canada’s resource wealth in a responsible way with cleaner energy – and that Canadian companies should collectively make those decisions to do so.

“It’s a challenge,” Boyd said. “And I think as Canadians we have to decide: Do we take advantage of the resources and resource wealth that we have in this country?”