2011, the company also announced a $70 million (CAD) investment in Rubicon Minerals, representing a 9.2% ownership stake and access to the Phoenix gold project located in the heart of Red Lake, Ontario. In 2016, Agnico Eagle was ranked as the 14th best of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights in Arctic resource extraction. In 2018, CEO Sean Boyd received The Northern Miners "Mining Person of the Year Award" at the annual Pacific Mine Forum (PMF). In the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI) Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is ranked no. 35 among 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of the Arctic Circle. Operations LaRonde gold mine The LaRonde mine, formerly Dumagami Mine, is located alongside the Trans-Canada highway in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region between Cadillac and Val-d’or, Quebec. LaRonde's Penna shaft, also known as shaft 3, is believed to be the deepest single lift shaft in the Western Hemisphere, descending more than three kilometres below the surface. It is estimated to have the longest potential lifespan of Agnico Eagle's six operating mines, estimated to be approximately 35 years once completed, from 1988 to 2023. The lifespan is now expected to run until 2032. The operation currently mines gold, zinc, copper and silver ores and employees 1,042 workers. The mine was renamed to the LaRonde Mine by company founder Paul Penna, to honour its first project manager, mining engineer Donald J. "Don" LaRonde (c. 1931-1986).Niles, Tim "Grayd VP Exploration Hans Smit on $275M acquisition by Agnico-Eagle", Resource Clips, September 20, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2018, Goldex Employing 213 people, with an estimated mine life of 10 years (2008-2018); Goldex is an underground mine located just outside Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada. Goldex is unique due to its partnership with the Quebec government in the restoration of the nearby abandoned Manitou mine tailings site. Through an innovative approach, the tailings from the Goldex mine are sent through a 25 km long pipeline to the Manitou site where they neutralize the acidic waters in the area, the result of years of poorly confined tailings generated between 1942 and 1979 by the mining companies operating the Manitou project at the time. Not only do the Goldex tailings neutralize and help rehabilitate the site, but the system also eliminates the need for a tailings pond at the Goldex site itself. The mine is expected to run until 2032 and currently