Mineral exploration alive and kicking in Kirkland Lake

With $32 million in hand, including $18 million raised in March alone, few people are as confident in the exploration potential of the Kirkland Lake area than Charles Page, president and CEO of Queenston Mining Inc. (TSX: QMI)

"There's no shortage of gold there and we always knew that," says Page, pointing to the 40 million ounces historically produced in the Kirkland Lake camp.

"We think there's a lot of gold left over, and this gold price is really letting us go after deeper targets."

Five drills are currently turning on the company's fully-owned properties, with plans for another three to be added as the 75,000-metre, $10-million exploration program moves forward.

Much of these will occur on the Upper Beaver, McBean, Anoki and Upper Canada properties in the Kirkland Lake camp, with the idea of putting together a resource base of 2 million ounces of gold. Continued deep exploration would further increase that to 4 million ounces, with an eye on producing between 150,000 and 200,000 ounces of gold a year. A central milling facility would also be considered for the Upper Canada site.

A new resource calculation is expected in the fall for the McBean and Upper Canada properties as the company builds towards a pre-feasibility study within the next two years, and a production decision within three.

Although not all exploration is quite as strong as that seen at Queenston, activity is still going strong with drills still turning throughout the Kirkland Lake district, according to officials from the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS).

"It's still pretty busy out there, regardless of what's happening in the economy," says David Guindon, acting regional resident geologist for the OGS' Kirkland Lake district. "Gold really seems to be the item of interest these days, and that's being reflected in the work that's taking place in our district."

Whereas other districts have seen shifts towards various types of metals alongside the rise and fall of specific metal prices, Guidon says the Kirkland Lake district has constantly remained almost entirely about one thing: gold. This has allowed exploration levels to stay fairly steady, particularly at a time where work is dropping off in other areas of the province.

More than $17 million of assessment work was carried out across 170 active properties in 2008, and although those figures have dropped somewhat, Guindon strongly hesitates to pin down any solid numbers. Regardless, he says there's still a great deal of exploration in the more historic camps, such as Kirkland Lake, Matachewan and Shining Tree.

Work has also picked up in other areas where exploration had dropped off in previous years, including up Highway 101, and in various locations south of Kirkland Lake.

This includes Golden Dawn Minerals Inc. (TSX.V: GOM), which has conducted a seven-hole, 2,000-metre drill program at its Link-Catharine Property, 25 kilometres southeast of the city.

Benton Resources Corp. (TSX.V: BTC) continues to do work at the Golden Harp Block A Property, located 87 kilometres southwest of Kirkland Lake. Recent surface grab samples have turned up 492.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 9.9 g/t gold, and additional prospecting and geological mapping is underway.

Also continuing exploration in the region is Bear Lake Gold Ltd (TSX.V: BLG). The junior, a result of a September 2008 merger of Maximus Ventures Ltd and NFX Gold Ltd, raised $2.5 million in June. That money is being put towards a resource estimate and three drill rigs turning at its Larder Lake Project, just outside the town of the same name.

A string of exploration-related successes has continued for local producer Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (TSX: KGI)

In late July, the company announced it had increased its proven and probable reserves at its South Mine Complex by 28 per cent from April 2008 to April 2009, while measured and indicated resources had also risen by the same percentage.

The company's exploration budget for 2010 is pegged at $7.4 million, with drilling set to target the South Mine Complex as well as untested areas in '04 Break system.

Additional mining activity will also soon be seen at Northgate Minerals' (TSX: NGX) Young-Davidson property, located 60 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake. A pre-feasibility study released in late July showed a measured and indicated gold resource of 3.3 million ounces, with proven and probable reserves of 2.8 million ounces.

Construction for the mine will begin in 2010, with commissioning in 2011 and full production in 2012.

The mine will have a 15-year life, and will incorporate open pit and underground operations. Pre-production capital costs are estimated at $93.8 million, employing 600 people throughout construction and 275 for operating the mine. Annual production will begin at 170,000 ounces of gold, ramping up to 190,000 within two years.