The company reported eight holes for 9,171m and one wedge hole for 1,143m of drilling, the second batch of results from a 250,000m exploration programme through 2021. Drilling in the central portion of Saddle Zone intersected a broad zone of high-grade mineralisation and confirmed the continuity of a mineralised structure between the Main and West pits.

"Today's results are extremely encouraging and support our view that there is a much larger deposit around the Main Pit and West Pit locations than is currently included in mineral reserves. In fact, based on results and observations to date, there is increasing evidence that there is a broad and continuous corridor of mineralisation extending between the two pit locations to a depth of up to 820m below surface," said president and CEO Tony Makuch.

Kirkland obtained Detour Lake through its acquisition of Detour Gold in January and focused on the Saddle Zone as a high-potential target where there had been very limited previous drilling.

Exploration at Detour Lake currently has four drills working with a target of completing at least 75,000m by the end of 2020. Kirkland plans to increase the number of drills to six in October.

Shares in Kirkland Lake Gold are trading at C$70.76, valuing the company at $19 billion.