Kirkland Lake expands high-grade zone below Taylor Mine
Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. [KL-TSX, NYSE; KLA-ASX] said it has expanded a new high-grade gold zone below its Taylor Mine in northeast Ontario on the fabled Porcupine Destor Fault.
The Taylor Mine, located in Matheson, is expected to produce between 60,000 and 70,000 ounces of gold this year, according to the company’s production guidance.
The company said recent drilling occurred at depth below both the East and West porphyry deposits; at a prospective target area situated down-dip from the Shaft deposit and east of the West Porphyry Deposit, and on strike to the east along the hanging wall of the Porcupine Destor Fault (PDF).
Results announced in an April 25, 2018 press release include 60 holes or 26,257 metres of surface drilling and 31 holes, or 5,512 metres of underground drilling. This program was completed in late 2017 and early 2018.
Kirkland Lake said the drill intersections provide significant results at all three of the company’s key exploration targets at Taylor Mine. At the West porphyry deposit, the results of surface drilling include a 150-metre extension of the new high-grade zone first reported last December (2017).
The zone has now been identified over an area between 350 metres and 500 metres below existing mining (780 metres and 930 metres below surface).
“Included in our plan to increase Kirkland Lake Gold’s annual production to a million ounces within five to seven years is growth in both production levels and mine life at Taylor mine,” said Kirkland Lake President and CEO Tony Makuch.
“[Wednesday’s] drill results are very encouraging as they demonstrate the considerable growth potential that exists at multiple locations around our existing deposits at Taylor,” he said.
Makuch went on to say that the company has achieved extensive and consistent success intersecting high-grade quartz veins along the PDF, east of the Shaft Deposit.
“With our latest high-grade intersections 1.1 kilometres, 1.3 kilometres, and 2.9 kilometres east of the Shaft deposit, future drilling will focus less on further expansion and more drilling within this very large area to determine its full potential,” he said.
Meanwhile, the exploration program at Taylor is continuing with four surface drills and one underground drill in operation as Kirkland Lake continues its work to grow the mine’s mineral resources and reserves.
Highlights from drilling include 20.1 g/t over 6.3 metres (7.1 g/t cut) and 25.0 g/t gold over 1.5 metres in hole TA17-103 drilled approximately 1.1 km east of the Shaft deposit.
Kirkland Lakes shares jumped 3.94% or $0.81 to $21.39 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $22.28 and $8.67.
Kirkland Lake Gold is a mid-tier gold producer with 2018 production target of over 620,000 ounces of gold from mines in Canada and Australia. Its production profile is anchored by two high-grade, low cost operations, including the Macassa Mine in northeastern Ontario and Fosterville Mine in Victoria, Australia.