An underground drill jumbo works at a Quebec gold exploration site.
By Mo Shine
Agnico Eagle Mines is taking a strategic position in Radisson Mining Resources as the junior moves the O’Brien gold project in Quebec from surface exploration toward modern underground access.
The transaction announced by Radisson provides C$57.16 million in gross proceeds through a non-brokered private placement. That is approximately US$41.4 million at the exchange rate cited in coverage, although the deal has been widely described in headlines as the “$57 million” investment because the announced amount is denominated in Canadian dollars.
For Radisson, the financing is intended to fund the first modern underground access at O’Brien, including an access ramp, underground workings, surface infrastructure and water-management facilities. For Agnico, the investment provides exposure to a high-grade Quebec project while limiting the immediate capital and execution risks associated with acquiring and developing a mine outright.
The deal also gives the senior producer board representation, future financing rights and protections over certain transactions involving O’Brien through the end of 2028.
The transaction: equity, warrants and strategic rights
Under the subscription agreement, Agnico will purchase 53.42 million units at C$1.07 per unit. Each unit contains one Radisson common share and one-half of a common-share purchase warrant.
The investment price represents a 6% premium to Radisson’s August 21 closing price and a 19% premium to its 20-day volume-weighted average price, according to Radisson’s August 24 announcement.
The warrants provide additional potential exposure, but they are not immediately exercisable on the same terms as the shares. Each whole warrant allows Agnico to purchase one additional Radisson share at C$1.39 for 60 months. The warrants may be accelerated after 24 months if Radisson’s volume-weighted average share price exceeds C$1.85 for 20 consecutive trading days.
| Deal feature | Terms |
|---|---|
| Gross proceeds | C$57.16 million |
| Units issued | 53.42 million |
| Subscription price | C$1.07 per unit |
| Agnico ownership after closing | 10.45% undiluted |
| Potential ownership with warrants | 14.90% partially diluted |
| Warrant exercise price | C$1.39 per share |
| Warrant term | 60 months |
| Board rights | One nominee, subject to ownership thresholds |
| Property transaction restrictions | Through December 31, 2028 |
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
Agnico’s investor rights agreement will also allow it to participate in certain future equity financings. The company may maintain or increase its ownership to the greater of its then-current interest or 14.9% on a partially diluted basis, subject to the agreement’s conditions.
These provisions make the investment more than a passive placement. They give Agnico a structured way to remain involved as Radisson advances exploration, permitting and technical studies.
Underground access is the central milestone
Radisson President and CEO Matt Manson said the financing will support an advanced underground exploration program designed to improve understanding of mineral continuity, geotechnical conditions, potential mining methods and processing requirements.
The work is expected to include:
- Development of an underground access ramp.
- Initial underground workings and related infrastructure.
- Surface facilities required to support the program.
- Water-management infrastructure.
- Engineering and permitting for the underground program.
- More detailed underground drilling and technical evaluation.
That shift matters because O’Brien has largely been evaluated through historical workings and modern surface drilling. Underground access can provide a more direct test of the deposit’s geometry, continuity and ground conditions than widely spaced surface holes alone.
It can also produce information needed to refine future mine designs. For an underground project, the distance between mineralized zones, the width and continuity of veins, dilution, rock competency, ventilation requirements and water inflows can materially change project economics.
Quebec’s existing roads, power and mining infrastructure are central to O’Brien’s development strategy.
Radisson will continue its fully funded 140,000-metre surface step-out drilling program at the same time. The company has reported mineralization below the former O’Brien mine and current resource areas to at least 1.9 kilometres depth, while extending its exploration ambition toward 2.5 kilometres.
The investment therefore funds two parallel workstreams: underground access to support project definition and surface drilling to test the broader scale of the mineralized system.
Why Agnico is backing O’Brien
O’Brien sits in Quebec’s Abitibi region, within the Bousquet-Cadillac mining camp and along the Larder Lake-Cadillac Break. The district has established roads, grid power, a skilled mining workforce and nearby processing infrastructure.
Agnico already operates major Quebec assets, including LaRonde, Canadian Malartic and Goldex. That regional presence may give the company a practical advantage in assessing O’Brien’s geology, permitting environment, labor market and potential infrastructure requirements.
The project also has a production history. According to Radisson, the historic O’Brien mine produced approximately 587,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 15.25 grams per tonne between 1926 and 1957.
The current development concept is different from the historic operation. Radisson’s 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment outlines a fully underground mine using long-hole stoping and off-site toll milling. The study assumes processing at the nearby Doyon mill, part of IAMGOLD’s Westwood Mine Complex, subject to a future commercial arrangement.
The PEA described:
- An 11-year underground mine life.
- Initial capital of approximately C$175 million.
- Life-of-mine sustaining capital of approximately C$173 million.
- Average steady-state production of about 70,000 ounces per year.
- Average recovery of 87%.
- AISC of US$1,059 per ounce.
- After-tax NPV at a 5% discount rate of C$532 million at US$2,550-per-ounce gold.
Those figures are preliminary and should not be treated as a production forecast. The study includes inferred resources, which are too speculative to support economic considerations that would allow them to be classified as mineral reserves.
For Agnico, the investment creates an option on that potential without committing immediately to full project construction. It also provides access to technical information as underground work progresses.
A reserve-replacement signal for senior producers
Large gold producers face a continuing challenge: replacing reserves depleted through production. New discoveries and expansions can take years to advance, while acquisitions often require substantial premiums and integration effort.
A minority investment can offer a middle path. A senior producer can gain exposure to a promising deposit, protect its future access to the asset and monitor technical progress before deciding whether a larger transaction is warranted.
O’Brien’s appeal is not based only on its resource size. The project combines several features that can make underground development more attractive:
- Historical high-grade production. The old mine provides a geological and operational reference point, although historical results are not automatically representative of current resources.
- Active resource growth. Radisson’s January 2026 update reported approximately 0.63 million ounces of indicated resources and 1.69 million ounces of inferred resources.
- Depth potential. The current drill program is testing extensions well below historic workings.
- Existing infrastructure. Highway access, power and potential nearby milling reduce the need for a standalone processing complex.
- High-grade exploration results. Radisson reported an interval of 316.31 grams per tonne gold over 5.1 metres in drill hole OB-26-385W4, including one metre at 1,603.95 grams per tonne. The result requires follow-up drilling and does not, by itself, establish mineable reserves.
Drill core provides the geological record needed to test continuity and grade at depth.
The Agnico placement may therefore become a reference point for other senior producers assessing advanced juniors. Rather than waiting for a completed feasibility study or a formal sale process, producers may increasingly use minority investments to secure strategic access to assets while exploration and permitting risk remains with the project owner.
That does not mean every strategic investment will lead to an acquisition. Agnico’s agreement expressly excludes a change-of-control transaction from certain property restrictions, leaving future corporate options open.
What the market still needs to see
The most important tests now move from financing to execution.
First, Radisson must complete the transaction and obtain the required exchange approval. Second, the company must translate the financing into a practical underground program with realistic schedules, costs and permitting milestones.
The technical risks are significant. Underground exploration can encounter weaker ground, unexpected water inflows, narrower mineralized zones or more complex structural controls than surface drilling suggests. The cost of access and infrastructure can also rise quickly if engineering assumptions change.
The toll-milling strategy carries a separate risk. Radisson’s PEA assessed potential processing at Doyon, but the earlier memorandum of understanding with IAMGOLD was non-binding and non-exclusive. A commercial milling agreement has not been established. Without suitable third-party processing terms, O’Brien’s capital requirements and development timetable could change materially.
There is also a distinction between resources and reserves. The project’s reported indicated and inferred resources are not reserves, and further drilling, mine design, metallurgical work, economic analysis and permitting will be needed before a reserve-backed production plan can be established.
| Milestone to monitor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Completion of the Agnico placement | Confirms the funding base for underground work |
| Ramp engineering and permitting | Establishes whether the access schedule is achievable |
| Underground drilling results | Tests continuity, grade and geometry at closer spacing |
| Updated mineral resource estimate | Determines how much new drilling converts into classified resources |
| Metallurgical and processing studies | Tests recovery, concentrate quality and toll-milling assumptions |
| Pre-feasibility or feasibility study | Replaces preliminary economics with a more detailed development case |
| Commercial mill agreement | Reduces a major processing and infrastructure uncertainty |
Implications for gold M&A
Agnico’s investment is best understood as a strategic foothold rather than a completed acquisition. It gives the producer exposure to O’Brien’s exploration upside, a voice in corporate decisions and the ability to participate in future financings.
For Radisson, the placement funds a major technical milestone without requiring an immediate project sale. It also brings a senior producer into the shareholder base at a premium to the prevailing market price.
The broader signal for gold mining news 2026 is that high-quality underground exploration assets in established districts may attract capital before they reach construction-ready status. However, the next phase will be judged less by the headline financing than by whether underground access confirms the geological and operational assumptions behind O’Brien’s preliminary economic assessment.
Agnico’s investment improves Radisson’s capacity to answer those questions. It does not remove the risks.
Related reading: Gold at US$4,600: Treasury buybacks and the debt tailwind and Gold mining coverage.
Sources: Radisson Mining Resources, Radisson O’Brien Gold Project, The Northern Miner, Radisson’s O’Brien PEA.
Social snippet: Agnico Eagle is taking a 10.45% stake in Radisson Mining Resources to fund the first modern underground access at Quebec’s O’Brien gold project. The strategic investment raises wider questions about reserve replacement, junior financing and the next phase of gold M&A.