Kirkland Lake Gold Reports Record Annual and Quarterly Production
Thu January 11, 2018 7:00 AM
TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (KL) (“Kirkland Lake Gold (KGLIF)” or the “Company”) (TSX:KL) (NYSE:KL) (ASE:KLA) today announced record annual and quarterly production for the full-year and fourth quarter (“Q4 2017”) of 2017, respectively. Comparative information for the full-year and fourth quarter ("Q4 2016") of 2016 includes results for the Fosterville, Cosmo and Stawell mines prior to the merger between Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. and Newmarket Gold Inc. (NMKTF) on November 30, 2016 and results for the Holt and Taylor mines prior to the acquisition of St. Andrew Goldfields Ltd on January 26, 2016. All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.
Highlights of 2017 and Q4 2017 operating results:
Consolidated full-year 2017 production of 596,405 ounces, beating improved guidance of 580,000 – 595,000 ounces
Record full-year production at all operating mines, including 263,845 ounces at Fosterville, 194,237 ounces at Macassa, 66,677 ounces at Holt and 50,764 ounces at Taylor
Consolidated quarterly production in Q4 2017 totaling 166,579 ounces, a 9% increase from Q4 2016 and 20% higher than Q3 2017
Record quarterly production in Q4 2017 at Fosterville (79,157 ounces), Holt (19,263 ounces) and Taylor (16,538 ounces), second best quarter ever at Macassa (51,608 ounces).
Other 2017 highlights:
Strong growth in mineral reserves
• Fosterville mineral reserves more than doubled in 2017 to 1,030,000 ounces at an average grade of 17.9 grams per tonne (“g/t”)
• Macassa mineral reserves increased 37% to 2,010,000 ounces at an average grade of 20.8 g/t
Improved balance sheet strength
• Cash and cash equivalents of approximately $230 million at December 31, 2017
• Debt eliminated: 6.0% convertible debentures repaid June 30, 2017; 7.5% convertible debentures matured December 31, 2017 (converted into 4,505,393 commons shares)
Industry-leading shareholder returns
• KL top performing stock on S&P/TSX Composite Index in 2017 with share price increasing 174.5% (for full-year 2017)
• Quarterly dividend payment announced in March, doubled to $0.02/share for January 15, 2018 payment
• 5.4 million common shares repurchased for C$76.5 million through normal course issuer bid
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