Kirkland Lake Gold production over 231K Oz in Q4
Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd announced record production for the fourth quarter (Q4 2019) and full-year (FY 2019) 2019. Production in Q4 2019 totaled 279,742 ounces, an increase of 21% from 231,217 ounces for the same Q4 2018, with the increase driven by record quarterly production at the Fosterville Mine of 191,893 ounces.
For FY 2019, consolidated production totaled 974,615 ounces, 35% higher than 723,701 for full-year 2018 (“FY 2018”). FY 2019 production at Fosterville of 619,366 ounces beat the mine’s FY 2019 guidance of 570,000 – 610,000 ounces. Production at Macassa Mine in FY 2019 totaled 241,297 ounces, in line with FY 2019 guidance of 240,000 – 250,000 ounces. All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.
The Company’s cash position increased $90 million or 15% during Q4 2019, with total cash and equivalents at December 31, 2019 totaling $705 million. During Q4 2019, $30.0 million was used to repurchase 727,200 common shares through the Company’s normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”), with an additional $25.0 million used for a strategic investment. For FY 2019, cash and equivalents increased $373 million or 112% from $332 million at December 31, 2018.
Highlights of Q4 2019 and FY 2019 production results:
Record consolidated production of 279,742 ounces, 21% increase from 231,217 ounces in Q4 2018 and 13% higher than 248,400 ounces the previous quarter (“Q3 2019”) (FY 2019 consolidated production of 974,615 ounces, 35% increase from 723,701 ounces for FY 2018).
Gold poured in Q4 2019 of 279,054 ounces, with consolidated gold sales of 278,438 ounces (FY 2019 gold poured of 978,455 ounces, with total gold sales of 979,733 ounces). Record quarterly production at Fosterville totaling 191,893 ounces in Q4 2019, 54% increase from 124,307 ounces in Q4 2018 and 21% higher than 158,327 ounces in Q3 2019 (FY 2019 production of 619,366 ounces, 74% increase from 356,230 ounces in FY 2018).
Production at Macassa in Q4 2019 totaling 56,379 ounces compared to 69,936 ounces in Q4 2018 and 62,945 ounces in Q3 2019 (FY 2019 production of 241,297 ounces, largely unchanged from 240,126 ounces in FY 2018)
Production at Holt Complex of 31,469 ounces in Q4 2019 compared to 36,974 ounces in Q4 2018 and 27,128 ounces the previous quarter (FY 2019 production of 113,952 ounces compared to 127,344 ounces in FY 2018).
