Ballarat-based Lewis-Gray is the co-founder, managing director and chairman of mineral processing pioneer Gekko Systems.

The former Austmine chair was the founder and now patron of the Coalition for Eco-Efficient Comminution and deputy chair of METS Ignited, and was inducted into the Australian Businesswoman's Hall of Fame in 2000.

Kirkland Lake chairman Jeffrey Parr said the company was delighted to welcome Lewis-Gray to the board.

"She is a successful entrepreneur whose extensive business experience will be extremely valuable for our company as we continue to grow our operations in Australia and Canada," he said.

"In addition, Elizabeth is our first corporate director from Australia, where our Fosterville mine has emerged as one of the world's truly great gold producers, and our Northern Territory assets are being advanced towards a potential restart after being placed on care and maintenance in June 2017. 

"Elizabeth's involvement with Austmine, the federal government's Innovation Australia board and her ongoing commitment to METS Ignited have provided her with considerable private and public-sector experience, which we can now draw upon as we continue to work at building our business franchise in Australia."

The appointment takes Kirkland Lake's board to eight members, of which two are women.