Kirkland Lake Gold achieves record 4Q18 and annual gold production

Tony Makuch, President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, commented: “2018 was an outstanding year for Kirkland Lake Gold. We achieved record production of 723 477 oz and, just as important, embarked on a programme of growth that could see the company achieve a million ounces of annual, low-cost gold production as early as 2021. A key part of our progress has been the continued transformation of Fosterville into one of the world’s greatest gold mining operations. As clearly demonstrated in 4Q18, we continue to see much greater levels of high-grade quartz-veins with visible gold at Fosterville than had previously been estimated, which was the main driver of the mine’s substantial outperformance during the quarter and is a key reason why we expect a significant increase in Swan Zone Mineral Reserves. Turning to Macassa, our grade performance in the South Mine Complex has been excellent, with many stopes outperforming in 4Q18018, and our operations team continuing to perform very well in moving our production profile to the deeper, high-grade parts of the mine. Macassa is a very solid, consistent operation that is poised to achieve substantial production growth once our new #4 Shaft is completed, with Phase 1 completion on track for early 2022. In addition, we had record production at Taylor in 4Q18, reflecting both improved tonnage and higher grades, and also turned in a solid performance at Holt. Entering 2019, we are well positioned for continued growth, with three-year production guidance including 740 000 – 800 000 oz in 2019, 850 000 – 910 000 oz in 2020 and 945 000 – 1 005 000 oz in 2021.”

Production in 2018 was a record 723 477 oz, an increase of 21% from 596 405 oz in 2017. Excluding production from mines currently on care and maintenance, total consolidated production of 722 759 oz in 2018 grew 26% from 575 523 oz for the previous year. The company exceeded the 670 000 oz minimum production target included in its current consolidated production guidance for 2018 by US$53.5 million or 8%. During 2018, the company improved its consolidated production guidance three times from the initial consolidated guidance of over 620 000 oz, announced on 17 January 2018. Improvement in consolidated production guidance during the year were primarily driven by Fosterville, where average grades consistently outperformed target levels during the year.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/09012019/kirkland-lake-gold-achieves-record-4q18-and-annual-gold-production/