TORONTO — Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. says it’s creating a sizable mining hub in Finland through a trio of deals worth some $3.8 billion to consolidate its holdings in the country.
The Toronto-based gold miner says the plan includes acquiring Rupert Resources Ltd. and Aurion Resources Ltd. as well as buying B2Gold Corp.’s 70 per cent stake in a joint venture.
It says the deals add an advanced gold mining project and exploration potential to Agnico Eagle’s existing Kittila mine in the country’s north.
“By consolidating the highly prospective and under-explored Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, we are bringing together our long-life Kittila mine, the Ikkari gold project, unconstrained by property boundaries, and a district-scale land position,” said Ammar Al-Joundi, chief executive of Agnico Eagle, in a news release.
The company says the deal gives it a roughly 2,500-square-kilometre land position in Finland and the potential to produce 500,000 ounces of gold a year within the next decade, up from about 217,000 ounces last year.
It also says developing the Ikkari mine in tandem with its existing operations could mean about $500 million in cost savings.
The Rupert Resources acquisition is the largest of the three deals, worth about $2.9 billion in upfront payments, plus potential for more. Agnico Eagle will issue Rupert shareholders 0.0401 of an Agnico Eagle share, valued at about $12 per Rupert share, plus additional contingent payments that could total up to $3 per share if certain targets are achieved.
The Aurion deal will see shareholders receive $2.60 per share in cash for a total of about $481 million, while Agnico Eagle will pay about $444 million for B2Gold’s interest in the Fingold Ventures joint venture.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Josh Wolfson said the transaction leverages the company’s local expertise in Finland and keeps with its regional strategic focus, but also said the terms show above-average premiums and valuations being paid in the deal.
The Rupert deal implies a 67 per cent premium to its closing share price on Friday while the Aurion terms represent about a 46 per cent premium.
Wolfson said the development plan adds to Agnico Eagle’s already extensive project development portfolio to raise questions of technical bandwidth.
Agnico Eagle topped Barrick Mining in production last year to become Canada’s largest gold producer as well as one of the biggest globally. Agnico Eagle has also surged ahead of Barrick in value, with a market capitalization of about $147 billion, compared with $98 billion for Barrick.
The shift came in part as Barrick disputed with the Malian government over the future of a mining complex in the country, while in March this year Barrick announced it was delaying development of its Reko Diq project in Pakistan over rising security concerns.
Agnico Eagle, meanwhile, has focused on mine development in Canada, Mexico, Australia and Finland.
National Bank analyst Shane Nagle says he has an outperform rating on Agnico Eagle based on the company’s low-risk portfolio, which includes low political risk, as well as its strong operational performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2026.
By Ian Bickis
