Kirkland Lake Gold Appoints Pamela Klessig, P. Geo, to Board of Directors; Wins 2010 Ontario Provincial Award of Excellence in Safety

KIRKLAND LAKE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 04/26/11 -- Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (the Company), (TSX: KGI)(AIM: KGI), an operating and exploration gold company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Pamela Joann Klessig, P.Geo, as a non-executive director with immediate effect. The Company also announces it has won Workplace Safety North's (WSN) Award of Excellence for 2010 for the Ontario mining company that has recorded the lowest total medical injury frequency for underground mines with over 250 employees.

Ms. Klessig has over 27 years of experience in global mineral exploration, development and production. She is the former President, CEO of Western Uranium Corp., now Concordia Resource Corp., where she continues to serve as a director.

Mr. Harry Dobson commented, 'I have served on a Board with Pam for several years and view her technical expertise and strategic vision as a valuable asset to Kirkland Lake Gold. As we undertake a significant increase in exploration drilling and spending this year, we look forward to her contributions as we launch new exploration initiatives in never explored areas of the camp. We welcome her to the Kirkland Lake Gold team.'

The Company is also pleased to announce the accomplishment of receiving the 2010 Award of Excellence in safety for reporting the lowest 2010 year-end total medical injury frequency in the category of underground mines with 250 employees or more.

Mr. Brian Hinchcliffe, President and CEO, commented, 'This is the second time in three years that Kirkland Lake Gold has won WSN's Excellence in Safety award. In 2008, the Company won in the category of underground mines in Ontario with less than 250 employees, which was the first time the Macassa Mine achieved this award. Now the Company has won the award for mines with more than 250 employees. These two awards are the first time an underground mine in Ontario has won in both categories. Working safely is our top priority and we are very proud of the recognition of our safety record, especially as we have grown the workforce by more than 400 people in two years. I would like to thank all workers and supervisors for their commitment to working safely.'

Please see below biography of Ms. Klessig's extensive experience in the mining industry.

Pamela J. Klessig, 56, began her career with Homestake Mining Company as the mine geologist at the company's uranium Pitch Mine in Colorado. Throughout her career she worked for a number of the large mining firms including Cyprus Minerals, Amselco, BP Minerals, Kennecott and Gencor where she held positions ranging from exploration geologist to exploration manager. In addition to her considerable exploration experience, Pamela has participated on a number of feasibility teams on a variety of projects reviewed by Amselco and BP Minerals. She also worked for Indochina Goldfields, now Ivanhoe Mines, during its initial public offering as the Vice President of Investor Relations. As a complement to her technical expertise she was a stockbroker for four years with A.G. Edwards and Sons, Inc., now Wells Fargo Investment Advisors. Pamela holds a Bachelor's degree in geology from Western State College, is a Certified Professional Geologist and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

The current and past directorships of Ms. Klessig held within the last five years are set out below:

Current Directorships                                     Past Directorships
Concordia Resource Corp.                         Western Lithium Corporation
(formerly Western Uranium Corp.)

About the Company

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.

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.

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

Philippe Polman

44 (0) 20 7861 3921
ppolman@pelhambellpottinger.co.uk


Ocean Equities Ltd.

Guy Wilkes

44 207 786 4370
guy.wilkes@oceanequities.co.uk


NOMAD: Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited

Katherine Roe OR Callum Stewart

44 20 7743 6675
katherine.roe@panmure.com