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Kirkland Lake Discoveries is run by CEO Stefan Sklepowicz. The flagship is the past-producing Mirado gold mine in the KL South project, about 20 km southeast of the town of Kirkland Lake in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario. The deposit is a hybrid system combining an orogenic overprint on what appears to be an underlying VMS-style host, with broad disseminated sulphides plus high-grade quartz carbonate veins. The company holds about 400 square kilometres across KL South, KL West, and KL East. The conversation focused on early drill results from a 25,000 metre program at Mirado, including a high-grade hit of roughly 39 g/t over 16.4 metres, the timing toward an updated resource, and the path to a potential exit involving Agnico Eagle or other neighbours.
TL;DR
The historic 2013 resource sits at roughly 440,000 ounces inferred at 1.3 g/t and is being expanded and converted. Stefan told us they drilled 4,000 metres at Mirado in the winter program and came in at C$200 per metre all-in versus a C$250 per metre budget, freeing up another 5,000 metres of drilling. Hole 4 returned 39.35 g/t over 16.4 metres, carried by a 0.38 metre interval at 1,670 g/t. Stefan chose not to cap the intercept because the dataset is too thin to set a statistically meaningful cap. Six holes are pending assays plus another 12 to 15 holes expected through the rest of the season, with two rigs running and a possible scale-up to four to six rigs depending on results. C$8 million in cash, with a likely raise later this year. Stefan estimated 600,000 metres of drilling may be needed to reach measured and indicated, suggesting an updated resource probably won’t land until around mid 2027. Geophysical surveys (MT survey and till sampling) are in progress to build out regional targets. The exit thesis hinges on Agnico Eagle’s nearby Upper Beaver mine development, Eldorado’s land position to the west, or Gold Candle’s consolidation to the south.
What have they done for shareholders lately?
Closed an acquisition deal that brought Mirado in from Orecap (formerly Orefinders) in exchange for 19.9% of the company, with Orecap locked up for a year and tied to a three-year board voting agreement. Completed the first 4,000 metres of the Mirado drill program under budget at C$200 per metre versus a C$250 per metre budget. Drilled and reported hole 4 returning 39.35 g/t gold over 16.4 metres, including a 0.4 metre interval at 1,670 g/t. Earlier holes returned 5.6 g/t over 18 metres, 3.3 g/t over 18.7 metres, and 1.8 g/t over 24 metres, plus a 121 metre interval at around 1 g/t. The company confirmed historic underground workings through the first three holes, validated the 1985 and 2013 metallurgical work at 95 percent recovery on a 24 hour CIL, and started an MT geophysical survey across the property. Stefan personally bought C$100,000 of stock in March during a drilling break.
How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
About C$8 million cash currently. They will likely need to come back to market this year. CEO Sklepowicz guided roughly C$2 million toward the remainder of the KL South drill program plus regional geophysics and till sampling, around C$500,000 for KL West work (primarily desktop integration of geochemistry and ALS Geo Analytics machine learning work, with follow-up drilling later in 2026 or into 2027), and around C$500,000 for KL East. Marketing and corporate spend is targeted at roughly C$500,000 to C$600,000 for the year. Drilling has been running about C$200 per metre all-in. The royalty situation on the main mine area sits at 3 percent NSR (buyable down to 1 percent at C$1 million per percent), dropping to 1 percent outside the main area (buyable to 0.5 percent at the same rate), with all royalties held by prospectors rather than insiders or major holders.
Upcoming catalysts
Technical: assays from six pending Mirado holes (six were pending at the time of the interview, with another 12 to 15 holes planned this campaign); deeper holes from the second 8,000 metre phase targeting the IP anomaly and depth extension to test continuity below 400 metres; full update on KL West with delayed assays still outstanding; integration of the MT geophysical survey and till sampling for regional target generation; structural data from downhole telemetry across all holes. Operational: ramp from two rigs to potentially four or six rigs subject to financing and results; continued resource expansion drilling toward edges of the system. Corporate: likely equity raise later in 2026 to bridge to a much larger drill program (Stefan indicated 600,000 metres may ultimately be required for measured and indicated); updated resource probably around mid 2027 (this time next year per Stefan); conference circuit including Quebec City, Beaver Creek in September, SMI Frankfurt in November, and VRIC and PDAC in early 2027.
Risks
Grade continuity is the single biggest open question and Stefan explicitly said he needs more drill data before he can set a statistical cap, meaning headline grades like the 1,670 g/t intercept could shrink materially in a resource model. The IP anomaly being tested at depth was described as low confidence with the 2D 2013 survey not being modern enough to draw firm conclusions. Insiders own under 1 percent of the company and Stefan personally holds about 2 million shares. Large blocks held by Orecap (19.9 percent), Newfound Gold (13 percent), Eric Sprott (8 percent), and Earth Labs (8 percent) represent potential future selling pressure, though all are described as long-term holders and Orecap is locked up until March 2027. Assay lab turnaround at Paragon is slowing already and multi-element assays are still outstanding six weeks after the first hole. The thesis depends substantially on either Agnico Eagle, Eldorado, or Gold Candle eventually wanting this asset, with the realistic threshold for a meaningful exit closer to 2 million ounces given the company plans not to build itself. Capital requirements over the next two to three years are large and dilution risk is real even with the recent share price strength.
Kirkland Lake Discoveries CEO Interview
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