Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd and Detour Gold Corporation announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Kirkland Lake Gold will acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Detour Gold pursuant to a plan of arrangement.
The acquisition will add a long-life, high-quality asset to Kirkland Lake and is expected to strengthen the company’s financial strength and capital markets profile.
Additionally, the transaction adds 15.41 Moz to Kirkland Lake’s mineral reserve base and extends the reserve life index by eight years.
Tony Makuch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kirkland Lake Gold, commented: “The acquisition of Detour Gold is an excellent fit for Kirkland Lake Gold. We have already taken two mining operations, Macassa and Fosterville, and transformed them into high-quality assets that generate industry-leading earnings and free cash flow. The addition of Detour Lake provides an opportunity to add a third cornerstone asset that is located in our back yard in Northern Ontario. Detour Lake will provide the pro forma company with a 20-plus year mine life which provides unparalleled optionality and excellent growth potential for the benefit of all shareholders. The management team at Detour Gold has done an exceptional job in making improvements and building momentum at the mine. Once the Transaction is completed, we will continue efforts to optimize current operations and commence engineering work to evaluate expansion opportunities at Detour Lake, which we anticipate could lead to significant production growth, improved unit costs and higher levels of mineral reserves and mineral resources.
“Turning to exploration, we are planning extensive drilling at highly prospective exploration targets within the 1,040 km2 Detour Gold land position, where we believe there is considerable potential for new discoveries to support future mineral resource growth. The work we are planning around Detour Lake will be a key component of our corporate exploration program going forward. Other anticipated components of this program include ongoing drilling at Macassa to grow the South Mine Complex and identifying high-grade gold zones along the Amalgamated Break, as well as continued extensive exploration at Fosterville and Northern Territory.”