The rise of Kirkland Lake Gold continues as the company experienced record annual and fourth quarter production from its operations in 2021.
For 2021, Kirkland Lake’s production totalled 1.43 million ounces of gold, a 5 per cent increase from the 1.37 million ounces from 2020.
In the fourth quarter of 2021 (Q421), the company produced 380,472 ounces of gold – a 3 per cent increase from both the fourth quarter of 2020 (369,434 ounces) and the third quarter of 2021 (370,101 ounces).
Kirkland Lake’s Detour Lake mine in Canada performed particularly strongly, enjoying record quarterly production of 210,980 ounces for Q421, a 38 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q420) and 12 per cent increase from the quarter before (Q321).
Detour Lake produced 712,824 ounces for 2021, which was in line with Kirkland Lake’s improved guidance of between 700,000 and 720,000 ounces for the mine.
The Tier-1 miner’s Fosterville operations in Victoria surpassed expectations for 2021, producing 509,601 ounces for the year – a marked increase from the original annual guidance of between 400,000 and 425,000 ounces, and beating the improved 2021 guidance of approximately 500,000 ounces.
Kirkland Lake’s Macassa mine in Canada enjoyed a 17 per cent increase in production from Q421 to Q420, and a 33 per cent increase when compared to Q321.
“We finished 2021 with a record quarter of performance, driven by record production at Detour Lake, a strong finish to the year at Macassa and higher than planned production at Fosterville as the mine continued to achieve favourable grade performance,” Kirkland Lake president and chief executive officer Tony Makuch said.
“At the same time that we generated record operating results and continued to build our financial strength, we also made significant progress towards completing the merger with Agnico Eagle.”
Makuch said the Agnico Eagle merger would position the company as a low-cost and environmental, social and governance (ESG) leader of the mining industry.
“We received shareholder approval for the merger near the end of November, followed by the approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on December 1, 2021, and are now awaiting Foreign Investment Review Board approval in Australia,” he said.
“Based on expected timelines, we are targeting closing of the merger between late January and mid-February.”