Kirkland Lake Gold and Queenston Mining Expand Strategic Joint Venture
KIRKLAND LAKE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 08/24/10 -- Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. ('KL Gold') (TSX: KGI)(AIM: KGI) and Queenston Mining Inc. ('Queenston') (TSX: QMI)(FRANKFURT: QMI)(STUTTGART: QMI) announce strategic additions to ongoing joint venture exploration programs.
Under the terms of the (new) agreement, Kirkland Lake Gold will expend $400,000.00 in exploration expenses over a one year period whilst Queenston will contribute seven claims from its 100% owned Amalgamated Kirkland property and eight claims from its Kirkland Hudson property. Upon earning a 50% interest, this joint venture will be rolled into and guided by the current South Claims Joint Venture agreement. The planned exploration will consist of driving a drift from the 5300' level of the Macassa mine south-eastward onto the Amalgamated Kirkland property and establish a drilling station to target the South Mine Complex on the Amalgamated Kirkland and adjoining HM and South Claims joint venture properties.
Mr. Brian Hinchcliffe, President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold stated, 'This new joint venture is an important part of our overall exploration program to continue to drill and extend the South Mine Complex and other gold structures being found to the East.'
Mr. Charlie Page, President and CEO of Queenston Mining added, 'The results of our deep surface drilling program over the past three years combined with the underground joint venture activity on the South Claims property has identified the potential for the South Mine Complex to extend onto the Amalgamated Kirkland property. The addition of a portion of the Amalgamated Kirkland and Kirkland Hudson properties to the joint venture provides Queenston the opportunity to participate further in advanced underground exploration with KL Gold in Teck township.The joint venture now contains seven individual properties.'
The completion of this joint venture agreement is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, satisfactory due diligence. Kirkland Lake Gold will update shareholders further in due course. Attached to this news release is a map outlining the KL Gold - Queenston joint venture properties located in Kirkland Lake.
About KL Gold
The Company purchased the Macassa Mine and the 1,450 ton per day mill along with four former producing gold properties - Kirkland Lake, Teck-Hughes, Lake Shore and Wright Hargreaves - in December 2001. These properties, which have historically produced some 22 million ounces of gold, extend over seven kilometres between the Macassa Mine to the west and Wright Hargreaves to the east and, for the first time, are being developed and explored under one owner. This camp is located in the Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.
The results of the Company's underground diamond drilling program have been reviewed, verified (including sampling, analytical and test data) and compiled by the Company's geological staff (which includes a 'qualified person', Stewart Carmichael P.Geo., the Company's Chief Exploration Geologist, for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, of the Canadian Securities Administrators). Mr. Carmichael also supervised the preparation of the information that forms the basis of the technical disclosure in this release.
The Company has implemented a quality assurance and control (QA/QC) program to ensure sampling and analysis of all exploration work is conducted in accordance with the best possible practices. The drill core is sawn in half with one half of the core samples shipped to Swastika Laboratories in Swastika, Ontario, or to Polymet Resources Inc. in Cobalt, Ontario. The other half of the core is retained for future assay verification. Other QA/QC includes the insertion of blanks, and the regular re-assaying of pulps and rejects at alternate certified labs. Gold analysis is conducted by fire assay using atomic absorption or gravimetric finish. The laboratory re-assays at least 10% of all samples and additional checks may be run on anomalous values.
The Company's Macassa Mine Property is the subject of a reserve report prepared by Glenn R. Clark, P.Eng. entitled Review of Resources and Reserves of Macassa Mine, Kirkland Lake, Ontario dated July 16, 2009, which has been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
To view the map associated with this press release, please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/kgi823.pdf
About Queenston
Queenston controls a significant land package in the Kirkland Lake gold camp now containing 29 properties, totalling approximately 19,000 hectares. The Company's strategy is to return to producer status through the development of four 100% owned gold projects including the Upper Beaver, McBean, Anoki and Upper Canada. The Company is also carrying out deep exploration targeting the new South Mine Complex with joint venture partner Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. on the South Claims property, and on its 100% owned AK property. Queenston is well financed with $40 million in cash and has a 2010 exploration budget of $16 million, employing up to 15 diamond drill rigs on 8 individual properties.
KL Gold's Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This Press Release may contain statements which constitute 'forward-looking, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words 'may', 'would', 'could', 'will', 'intend', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect' and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's Annual Information Form and quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.
Queenston's Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Except for historical information this News Release may contain certain 'forward looking statements'. These statements may involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity and performance to be materially different from the Company's expectations and projections. A more detailed discussion of the risks is available in the 'Annual Information Form' filed by the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange has reviewed and neither accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Contacts:
Kirkland Lake Gold Inc.
Brian Hinchcliffe
President
705 567 5208
705 568 6444 (FAX)
bhinchcliffe@klgold.com
Kirkland Lake Gold Inc.
Lindsay Carpenter
Director of Investor Relations
416 840 7884
416 850 1617 (FAX)
lcarpenter@klgold.com
www.klgold.com
Pelham Bell Pottinger
Klara Kaczmarek
+44 207 861 3883
kkaczmarek@pelhambellpottinger.co.uk
NOMAD: Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Katherine Roe / Callum Stewart
+44 207 459 3600
katherine.roe@panmure.com
Ocean Equities Ltd.
Guy Wilkes
+44 207 786 4370
guy.wilkes@oceanequities.co.uk
Queenston Mining Inc.
Charles E. Page, P. Geo.
President and CEO
(416) 364-0001 (ext. 224)
(416) 364-5098 (FAX)
cpage@queenston.ca
Queenston Mining Inc.
Hugh D. Harbinson
Chairman
(416) 364-0001 (ext. 225)
(416) 364-5098 (FAX)
hughd@queenston.ca
Queenston Mining Inc.
Andreas Curkovic
Investor Relations
(416) 577-9927
www.queenston.ca