Kirkland Lake's Macassa mine, in Canada.
Triple-listed Kirkland Lake Gold has exceeded its production target for the third quarter, driven by record quarterly output from the Fosterville mine, in Australia, as well as a strong contribution from its Canadian operations – Macassa, Holt and Taylor.
Third-quarter production increased to 180 155 oz, a 30% increase from 139 092 oz in the third quarter of 2017 and a 9% increase from 164 685 oz in the second quarter of 2018.10.09
The Fosterville mine lifted its production by 47% year-on-year to 90 618 oz of gold, while the three Canadian mines produced a collective 89 537 oz.
Kirkland reported year-to-date production growth of 26% at Fosterville, 19% at Macassa, 8% at Holt and 15% at Taylor.
Reflecting on the record production at Fosterville, president and CEO Tony Makuch said in a media statement that the commissioning of a second gravity circuit during the quarter had resulted in an “immediate spike” in production, with the Fosterville mill processing more than 18 000 oz in the first week of the circuit’s operation.
“This spike can largely be attributed to the gravity circuit’s effectiveness in recovering gold previously contained in the recirculating load of the grinding circuit. We also mined and processed our first Swan Zone stope during the quarter, which contributed over 7 500 oz of production at an average grade of close to 40 g/t, in line with target levels,” he said.
At September 30, Kirkland had cash and cash equivalents of $275-million.
During the third quarter, the company used $47.8-million to acquire 32.6-million common shares of Osisko Mining, representing about 13.6% of currently issued and outstanding common shares. In addition, the Company repurchased 1 570 600 common shares during the quarter, at an average cost of $24.77 a share for a total of $30-million.