Kirkland Lake has ridden the waves of mining busts and booms over the years but it appears it will be smooth sailing for a few more decades.
Mayor Bill Enouy said the current boom in gold mining is more than a cycle and expects the reserves the mines have will tide them over for 25 to 30 years.
“Kirkland Lake Gold has increased its workforce by four times in the last few years so they are employing around 800 people now and they are looking at growing,” he said. “Other mines are on the brink of opening like Northgate Minerals, Queenston and Armistice.”
Although there are plenty of jobs, the town is feeling the crunch of an accommodation shortage. The opportunities in the town, the mayor said, are for those in the construction industry.
“What we need right now in Kirkland Lake is for developers to come in and build an apartment complex or row houses,” Enouy said. “That is the biggest opportunity for some entrepreneur.”
Kirkland Lake, located about 140 kilometres southeast of Timmins on Highway 66 (off Highway 11), is known for its NHL hockey players as much as it is for gold. In the 1950s, seven gold mines were operating on its main street but by the late 1990s, all had shut down.
Its fortunes changed in 2001 when Kirkland Lake Gold acquired 13,000 acres of five contiguous formerly producing gold mines, which had historically produced 21 million ounces of gold, and undertook an extensive exploration program.
“It had been a 40-year slide for us but now things are going great,” Enouy said. “Historically the gold mine towns have done better when the rest of the world isn't doing so well. We are looking at the price of gold going higher and if it doesn't, then it won't be down enough to worry about.”
House prices, which had previously been low, have increased three to four times over the last few years.
“A lot of homes have been sold but we really need more rentals,” he said.
The retail sector is growing and is catching up to the marketplace.
“Over the last 10 years, the number of new retail outlets has really grown and for some that have been here previously, they are adding on to what they have,” the mayor said.
The mall is full and new retail outlets have been built.
“We have people coming through asking if we have space available. We don't have a lot of high-quality space but we have a lot of land available that can be developed into commercial and retail outlets,” Enouy said.
The town is eager to help facilitate anyone who wants to look at land and buildings and help in any way it can to grow its retail industry and housing and rental sectors.
Kirkland Lake is home to the Museum of Northern History at the Sir Harry Oakes Chateau and Hockey Heritage North. Northern College has a campus in the town and a former nursing home has been renovated to house students.
“We are definitely on the map now which is something that didn't happen for a long time,” the mayor said.
