Canada Infrastructure Bank Provides CAD 20 Million Loan for Wind Power at Nunavut Gold Mine

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Canada Infrastructure Bank has announced the financial close of a CAD 20 million project loan with Kitikmeot Tugliq Limited Partnership for the construction of the Hope Bay wind power project in Nunavut. The project consists of a 4.2 MW wind turbine and a 4 MW battery energy storage system, and upon completion will supply power to Agnico Eagle's Hope Bay gold mine through a long-term power purchase agreement.

Kitikmeot Tugliq Limited Partnership is jointly established by the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and Tugliq Energy. In addition to the Canada Infrastructure Bank loan, the project has also received CAD 25 million in funding support from Natural Resources Canada's Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program. The project will connect to the Hope Bay mine site's existing energy system to supply power for mine construction and subsequent mining operations.

According to the project design, once the wind turbine and energy storage system are operational, they will reduce diesel consumption by up to approximately 3 million liters per year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 13,000 tonnes. The project is expected to create 15 jobs at peak construction, and subsequent benefits will flow back to the relevant Kitikmeot Inuit communities through the partnership mechanism.

The Hope Bay gold mine project made a positive investment decision in May of this year. Agnico Eagle's 2026 preliminary economic assessment shows that the project plans underground mining and the construction of a processing facility with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes of ore per day, with expected steady-state annual gold production of approximately 435,000 ounces and an initial mine life of 11 years. The project has measured and indicated resources of 5.79 million ounces of gold and inferred resources of 3.33 million ounces.

Hope Bay is located in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, Canada, with the mining area extending southward from the Doris deposit to the Boston deposit, covering approximately 80 kilometers of greenstone belt. Agnico Eagle has previously decided to proceed with mine construction and redevelopment, and the wind-storage project will serve as the first large-scale project in the mine site's new energy power supply system.

This CAD 20 million loan is the Canada Infrastructure Bank's second project in Nunavut, following a CAD 6.7 million loan provided to the Anuriqjuak Nukkiksautiit wind power project in Sanikiluaq.