By filling vertical stopes in the mineralisation veins, Kirkland Lake was able to extract more ore and boost production at the Bendigo site.

The company produced 161,489 ounces of gold during the September quarter, representing an 11 per cent growth compared to the same period in 2019.

This contributed to a total production of 339,584 ounces for the period across its Australian and Canadian operations.

The company also ramped up exploration activities during the third quarter, investing in the future of the Fosterville site.

As of September, Kirkland Lake has mobilised five surface and eight underground drills at Fosterville to continue exploration at the site.

The Swan zone returned higher than expected grades, with an intercept of 976 grams per tonne of gold over 7.4 metres, reconfirming the company’s confidence in the future of the Fosterville site

Kirkland Lake president and chief executive Tony Makuch said a key priority for the quarter was investing in its cornerstone assets, Fosterville and the Detour Lake and Macassa mines in Canada.

“We are on track to invest around $130 million in exploration this year (and) have reported very encouraging drill results at all three assets,” Makuch said.

“During quarter three of 2020 we continued to achieve solid operating results and ended the quarter well positioned to achieve our consolidated 2020 guidance.”

Kirkland Lake has produced 476,459 ounces at Fosterville for the year so far, on its way to achieving its guidance of 590,000-610,000 ounces by the end of 2020.