Stock Symbol: AEM (NYSE and TSX)

(All amounts expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted)

TORONTO, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Agnico Eagle Mines Limited $(AEM)$ (TSX: AEM) ("Agnico Eagle" or the "Company") announced today a plan to complete a comprehensive consolidation of properties in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt ("CLGB") of Northern Finland, pursuant to which Agnico Eagle has entered into definitive agreements in respect of three separate transactions: (i) the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Rupert Resources Ltd. ("Rupert"); (ii) the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Aurion Resources Ltd. ("Aurion"); and (iii) the acquisition of a 70% interest in Fingold Ventures Ltd. (the "Fingold JV") held by B2Gold Corp. ("B2Gold"), which together with the 30% interest held by Aurion, would result in Agnico Eagle owning a 100% ownership interest in the Fingold JV. The Company currently owns 13.9% of Rupert on a non-diluted basis and 9.9% of Aurion on a partially diluted basis.

   -- Establishes Finland as a multi-asset, multi-decade regional platform 
      within Agnico Eagle's portfolio, with a pathway to become an 
      approximately 500,000-ounce annual gold production hub within the next 
      decade 
 
   -- Provides the financial, technical and on-the-ground resources to develop 
      the highly prospective Ikkari gold project ("Ikkari"), leveraging Agnico 
      Eagle's proven management, exploration, permitting, mine building and 
      operating expertise 
 
   -- Creates significant value through optimized project development, 
      including an extension of the Ikkari open pit onto the Fingold JV area, 
      which is expected to capture additional gold ounces in the mine plan on 
      both sides of the property boundary 
 
   -- Consolidates an approximate 2,492 km(2) regional land position within the 
      under-explored Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, unlocking significant 
      exploration potential with robust targets across all stages of 
      exploration 
 
   -- Integrating Ikkari into the Company's established Finland platform 
      delivers unique operating, development and construction synergies 
      estimated at up to $500 million, over and above the value benefit that is 
      expected to be realized by eliminating the property boundary constraint 

Agnico Eagle's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ammar Al-Joundi commented: "These transactions deliver on our long--standing regional strategy and build on our more than 20 years of best-in-class operating experience in Finland to establish another multi--asset, multi--decade platform in our portfolio within a world--class gold belt. 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 with clearly defined targets across all stages of exploration. Supported by a proven local team with the technical, operating and exploration expertise to execute, this consolidation positions us to accelerate development, capture unique synergies, drive project--level value and unlock substantial long--term exploration upside for our shareholders. This approach mirrors how we have successfully built value across our Canadian platforms and represents an important next chapter for our Finland business".

Agnico Eagle's Executive Vice President Exploration, Mr. Guy Gosselin commented: "Through these transactions, we have consolidated a regional land position of approximately 2,492 km(2) in the most prospective exploration belt in the Nordic region. This district hosts multiple high quality gold opportunities, ranging from near deposit resource growth to largely untested regional targets, as well as highly prospective Cu-Ni-PGE targets within the lateral extension of the geological formation hosting nearby world-class Cu-Ni PGE deposits. The scale of the mineralized trends, combined with the elimination of property boundaries, provide a strong foundation for disciplined, multi--year exploration aimed at expanding resources and delivering new discoveries."

Strategic Rationale

The proposed consolidation of the CLGB aligns with Agnico Eagle's long--standing strategy of regional consolidation in premier mining jurisdictions. Upon closing of these transactions, Agnico Eagle will own in addition to the Kittila mine, the Ikkari gold project, along with a large, highly prospective land package totalling approximately 2,492 km(2).

Rupert's primary asset is its 100%--owned Ikkari gold project, a high--quality, advanced exploration and development project with a large mineral resource and mineral reserve base, including 3.5 million ounces of gold in probable mineral reserves (52.0 million tonnes grading 2.1 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold). The project also offers significant geologic potential and exploration upside across an approximately 1,253 km(2) land package, with growth opportunities ranging from early-stage targets, zones with initial mineral resources, and the past-producing Pahtavaara gold mine where several known zones remain open. The land package also includes areas prospective for critical minerals in the same rock formations hosting nearby world-class Cu-Ni PGE deposits.

Aurion has assembled a large, contiguous land position of approximately 761 km(2) within the CLGB, including the land held by the Fingold JV with B2Gold. The consolidated property provides significant exploration upside across multiple targets and is supported by encouraging exploration results, including a number of discoveries such as Kaasresselka, Helmi, Kutuvuoma and Vuoma. Aurion and the Fingold JV have continuously demonstrated strong potential in this under-explored part of the CLGB. All known gold occurrences remain open for growth, having only been explored from surface to less than 300 metres depth, and some display alteration and mineralization similar to Ikkari, the major gold deposit in the district.

Figure 1. Map of claims to be consolidated by Agnico Eagle with proposed transactions

These transactions are expected to substantially enhance the scale, growth and longevity of the Company's Finland platform, which the Company believes has the potential to evolve into a world-class multi--decade gold production hub producing approximately 500,000 ounces annually in one of the most geologically prospective and politically stable regions in the world. The Company brings financial strength, technical depth, government relations and on--the--ground capability to optimize and advance Ikkari, leveraging its proven local expertise across exploration, permitting, mine building and operations.

The integration of Ikkari with the Company's existing Kittila operating platform is expected to generate operating and development synergies of up to $500 million. Additionally, the elimination of property boundary constraints creates a clear pathway to incremental project--level value through a larger open pit extending onto the Fingold JV property that is expected to capture additional gold ounces in the mine plan and extend mine life.

The Company first made a strategic investment in Rupert in February 2020 and, over the past six years, has developed a strong technical understanding of Ikkari and its long--term development potential. With enhanced technical and financial capacity, Agnico Eagle is well positioned to execute a comprehensive exploration and development program and accelerate value creation across the district.

Finland Platform -- Kittila Mine, the Ikkari Gold Project, Expanded Exploration Upside

   -- The Kittila mine is the largest primary gold mine in Europe, hosting a 
      large mineral reserve and mineral resource base, including 3.3 million 
      ounces of gold in probable mineral reserves (24.8 million tonnes grading 
      4.17 grams per tonne gold). Commercial production was achieved in 2009 
      and the mine was subsequently expanded to a 2 million tonnes per annum 
      operation in 2020. In 2025, Kittila produced 217,379 ounces of gold and 
      generated strong free cash flow 
 
   -- Ikkari is located 50 kilometres from Kittila. A pre-feasibility study was 
      completed by Rupert in February 2025, envisioning an open pit and 
      underground operation utilizing conventional processing with average 
      annual gold production of 227,000 ounces of gold over the first 10 years 
      of mine life 
 
          -- Ikkari has a large mineral reserve and mineral resource base -- 
             probable mineral reserves of 3.5 million ounces of gold (52.0 
             million tonnes at 2.10 g/t) from indicated mineral resources of 
             4.1 million ounces of gold (58.4 million tonnes at 2.18 g/t) 
             (inclusive of mineral reserves) 
 
          -- Land consolidation with the Fingold JV creates additional value, 
             allowing for the optimal development of Ikkari, with an 
             unconstrained open pit and optimal positioning of infrastructure 
 
          -- Agnico Eagle plans to continue a drill program at Ikkari for 
             infill and condemnation drilling and to test step-out targets as 
             well as some selected regional priority targets, with an 
             approximately $20 million drilling program planned over the first 
             18 months, along with the completion of an updated internal 
             evaluation for the optimized mine design targeted by the end of 
             2027 
 
   -- The consolidated land package of approximately 2,492 km(2) has 
      significant potential for mineral resource expansion and new discoveries. 
      A three-year regional exploration program ranging between $60 and $100 
      million and including 100,000 to 175,000 metres of drilling, is planned 
      to unlock the full district scale potential of the consolidated land 
      position on the multiple regional targets. The program will be 

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April 20, 2026 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT)