Monday 5 November 2012

Ocean Equities says Kirkland Lake Gold's "standout" drilling results from Macassa SMC complex just the beginning


Capital markets firm Ocean Equities says Kirkland Lake Gold's (TSE:KGI) latest drill results from the South Mine Complex at the gold producer's landmark Macassa mining complex in Ontario are "standout". 
Ocean notes that the results show that the high grade mineralization at the South Mine Complex extends to the east, with the drilling including an intersection of 100 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 3 metres. 
The drilling targeted an area of mineralization that extended onto its HM claim - one of the several claims of which Kirkland acquired full control when purchasing Queenston Mining's (TSE:QMI) 50 per cent stake in August. 
"This round of drilling at the SMC included several standout drilling results. The most important hole from the latest drilling was 53-2111A which returned an intercept of 3m (true width) at 101.8g/t gold. This hole increased the footprint of the SMC by over 220 feet to the east," Ocean's analyst notes, adding that this is just the start of expected "exploration success" in this area. 
Other holes from the latest drilling campaign included results from the known areas of mineralization that are already within the SMC ore zone. 
The best result, Ocean Equities says, was hole 53-1978, which returned an intercept of 5.3 metres true width of 159.1 g/t gold. 
"Hole 53-1978 was essentially drilled on the boundary between the old, wholly owned concession and the new ground that is now wholly owned by Kirkland and demonstrates quite clearly the justification for the acquisition."
Indeed, the UK-based capital markets firm lauded Kirkland Lake's "great success" in expanding the South Mine Complex to the east, as earlier drill results gave indication that high grade mineralization extended eastward - prior to Kirkland acquiring complete control in the licenses. 
"Today’s results demonstrate that the Kirkland has yet to find the eastern boundary of the SMC and that it is highly likely that continued exploration in the area will yield more positive results. To this end, Kirkland has decided to extend developments into the HM claim to give better drill access into the new zone of mineralisation."
Kirkland said in its statement today that work on the exploration drift is going well, and it will soon start work on a large drill bay to carry out more drilling in this new area. The long-term benefit of the drift will be that it will connect the eastern extensions of the South Mine Complex to the trackless haulage ramp - giving it the ability to "quickly advance from discovery to ore development."
"We were expecting exciting exploration results from this area of the SMC and Kirkland has not disappointed. 
"The drift is a very important development for Kirkland and it will allow quick access into this rich area of mineralisation but the long term benefit of this development will be that Kirkland can quickly plug this high grade ore into the production schedule," Ocean concludes. 
The next big news to watch out for, Ocean prepares, is the ramp-up of production at Kirkland's Macassa, as the expansion phases near completion - a "game-changing" event for the Ontario miner. 

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