06:32 AM EST, 12/19/2017 (MT Newswires) -- Kirkland Lake Gold (KL) reported Tuesday positive drilling results at the Cosmo Mine in the Northern Territory, Australia, with a total of 65 holes for 23,553 m from underground diamond drilling and nine holes for 4,184 m from surface drilling completed to test the expansion potential of the Lantern Deposit.

The company said the results "substantially increase" the deposit footprint, particularly to the north, and demonstrate the potential for "significant growth" in Mineral Resources. The high-grade gold mineralization intersected from recent drilling exhibits a change from fine-grained free gold in Cosmo Deposit to coarser-grained free gold in narrow quartz veins within Lantern.

Kirkland Lake said further that the results demonstrate that Lantern is much larger than previously identified with the potential for substantially higher grades. Based on the latest drilling, it has extended Lantern to over 500 m along strike, more than 1,200 m down-plunge and over 1,000 m vertically from surface, with a significant number of high-grade intersections and multiple occurrences of visible gold.

The company said it plans to establish an economic deposit or deposits in the Northern Territory and resume mining and milling operations at the Cosmo Mine and Union Reefs Mill.

It is therefore initiating an underground exploration development program on two levels, 320 m vertically apart, to access Lantern underground from the existing Cosmo ramp. This development will provide the first underground exposures of the Lantern mineralization, deliver improved drilling access and provide initial production platforms for the potential restart of operations in 2018.