Five 5.6-megawatt, high-efficiency Wärtsilä generators provide power to Agnico Eagle's Meliadine mine in Nunavut. Heat recovered from the generator engine exhaust is circulated through the mine site, providing heat to surface buildings and underground operations connected to the hot-water loop. Courtesy of Nicholas Allen

The construction and commissioning of Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank mine – the gold miner’s first foray into the Far North – was an educational experience with a steep learning curve. Logistical, operational and human resource challenges tested the company’s ingenuity and taught it a lot of lessons about how to bring a mine into production and keep it operating: lessons that Agnico Eagle applied to Meliadine, its second mine in Canada’s Low Arctic.