Overview
Among the Kirkland Lake properties, the most advanced exploration program is at the Upper Beaver deposit. Initial probable mineral reserves have been estimated at Upper Beaver of 8.0 million tonnes grading 5.43 g/t gold and 0.25% copper (containing 1.4 million ounces of gold and 19,980 tonnes of copper) as of December 31, 2017 (on a 100% basis), as well as substantial indicated and inferred mineral resources, all at underground depths. Recent work has resulted in mineral resources at three other deposits. At Anoki and McBean, the combined indicated mineral resources have been estimated at 1.9 million tonnes grading 5.33 g/t gold (containing 320,000 ounces of gold) (on a 100% basis), and there are also inferred resources, all at underground depths. At the Amalgamated Kirkland (AK) deposit, the underground mineral resource estimate remains unchanged from last year: indicated mineral resources of 1.3 million tonnes grading 6.51 g/t gold (containing 266,000 ounces of gold) (on a 100% basis), and inferred mineral resources. At the Upper Canada deposit, there are initial inferred mineral resources of 12.1 million tonnes grading 4.50 g/t gold (containing 1.75 million ounces of gold) (on a 100% basis) at underground and open pit depths.
Project update
- The 2018 budget of $5.4 million (representing Agnico Eagle‘s 50% interest for Q1 and 100% interest for Q2-Q4) consists of 25,700 metres of drilling (on a 100% basis). Drilling activities will be focused on expanding and locating new gold mineralization on the Upper Beaver and Upper Canada properties; prospecting along the Larder-Cadillac Deformation Zone; and completing a technical review of all exploration data for the Upper Beaver deposit to determine the next steps at the property.
- The 2018 exploration program at Upper Beaver will consist of nine diamond drill holes (4,500 metres) to test shallow geophysical and soil anomalies predominantly outside of the known mineralized zones; and 6,000 metres of drilling (one pilot and four wedge holes) to test for down-dip, down-plunge and on-strike extensions of the deep inferred mineral resource at a depth of 1,300 to 1,785 metres.
- The exploration program at Upper Canada in 2018 will consist of 20 diamond drill holes (6,000 metres) to test regional targets including parallel structures with open pit potential; and 5,000 metres of near-deposit drilling to test areas of known mineralization outside of the current inferred mineral resource envelopes.
- In addition, approximately 1,600 metres of drilling will be carried out to test structural targets between the Upper Canada deposit and the Munro deposit. This area is thought to host the LCDZ under thick overburden cover.
Geology
The properties lie within the southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt of the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield. The area is underlain by an east-west-trending linear Timiskaming assemblage comprised of volcanic and sedimentary rocks as well as synvolcanic intrusion emplacements consisting typically of diorite, syenite, quartz-feldspar porphyries and monzonite. The assemblage, deposited in a sub-aerial to shallow marine arc-rift environment, is typically bound to the south by the Larder-Cadillac Break (LCB) – which is a major east-trending, south-dipping regional structure that juxtaposed Tisdale mafic to ultramafic rocks (south of the fault) against much younger Timiskaming sedimentary rocks. The LCB lies within the Larder Cadillac Deformation Zone (LCDZ), which is a wide structural zone cutting across several lithologies.
Mineralization
The main deposits on the properties are:
- the Upper Beaver deposit is atypical of the Kirkland Lake – Larder Lake mining district. Gold-copper mineralization is mainly hosted in an alkalic intrusive complex and is associated with disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite, and magnetite-sulphide veining.
- the AK (Amalgamated Kirkland) deposit consists of lode-style gold mineralization hosted by altered and pyritic Timiskaming volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The deposit lies on one of many northeast-trending structures that lie between the Kirkland Lake Main Break and the LCDZ. The gold mineralization is of two types: gold-bearing quartz and quartz breccia veins, and gold within pyrite-altered host rocks.
- the Upper Canada deposit lies about 6 km southwest of the Upper Beaver property, and 1.6 km north of the main LCDZ, within a 300- to 400-metre-wide strongly altered deformation corridor that is interpreted as a splay from the LCDZ. Host rocks are primarily volcanic tuffs and sediments that have been intruded by syenite bodies. Gold mineralization is associated with intensely altered shear zones with fine pyrite and ancillary sulphide mineralization. En-echelon higher-grade lenses are present within a broader envelope of lower grade mineralization.