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
- An initial $5.4 million exploration program consisting of 20,000 metres of drilling is planned for 2018. The drilling commenced in July.
- The primary exploration focus in 2018 will be extending the Upper Beaver deposit at depth, and testing for satellite targets around the Upper Canada deposit. In addition, the Company is completing a technical review of all exploration data for the Upper Beaver deposit to determine the next steps at the property. An advanced exploration program is being prepared to validate the technical aspects and the extended potential of the Upper Beaver property.
- The Company is evaluating potential synergies between the Upper Beaver and Upper Canada projects and its other Abitibi operations. An early-stage study is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
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.