Osisko said the 5,716 tonnes mined from Lynx returned an average grade of 17.8g/t, well above the 9.4g/t predicted by infill drilling on the Lynx zone 311 resource block model wireframe.

The company said it also achieved higher-than-expected gold recovery, of 97.2%.

The sample contained 3,271 ounces of gold and 2,176oz of silver and Osisko said a total of 3,181oz of gold and 2,052oz of silver were recovered.

"The average grade greatly exceeded our expectations based on the infill drilling, returning 89% higher grade than anticipated," president John Burzynski said.

"The significant grade increase from the block model appears to correspond well with the very regular visible gold observed in Lynx drilling."

Osisko is well-funded for further exploration, closing an oversubscribed flow-through share financing that raised US$46.3 million last week.

Shares in the company closed up 3.5% yesterday to C$3.20, a midpoint in its 52-week range of $2.43-$3.91.

It is capitalised at $926 million (US$703 million).