Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.'s third-quarter production surged 38% year on year to a record 248,400 ounces thanks to another record performance from its Fosterville mine in Victoria, Australia.
Output at Fosterville jumped 75% from a year ago to a record 158,327 ounces, driven by a production ramp-up at the Swan zone. This eclipsed the previous high of 140,701 ounces posted in the second quarter.
Output at the Macassa mine in Ontario rose 13% to 62,945 ounces due to increased mining at higher grade stopes.
Production for the first nine months climbed 41% year on year to a record 694,873 ounces. Kirkland Lake said Oct. 9 that it is on track to meet its full-year gold production guidance of 950,000 ounces to 1 million ounces.
Gold sales for the September quarter rose to 256,276 ounces from 184,517 ounces last year, while nine-month sales jumped to 701,296 ounces from 496,585 ounces. The company's cash position improved by 30% during the quarter to US$615 million.
Meanwhile, Kirkland Lake said it is currently reviewing future plans for the Holt Complex in Ontario, where third-quarter production slipped to 27,128 ounces from 33,955 ounces last year as a result of lower output from the Holt and Taylor mines.
