Kirkland Lake Gold Announces Proposed Changes to Its Board of Directors

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sep 15, 2014) - Kirkland Lake Gold Inc., ("KL Gold" or the "Company") (TSX:KGI)(AIM:KGI), an operating and exploration gold company with operations in Ontario, Canada, announces proposed changes to the Company's Board of Directors. Subject to approval and completion of diligence as required under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, Mr. Barry R. Cooper, Mr. Jeffrey S. Parr and Mr. Barry P. Olson will be nominated by management for election by the shareholders of the Company at the upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled for 4:00pm ET on October 22, 2014 at 5300 Commerce Court West, 199 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario (the "AGM").

Three of the Company's current directors, Mr. Brian Bayley, Mr. Trevor Gabriel and Mr. Claude Lemasson, will not be standing for re-election.

Mr. Bayley has provided more than 16 years of strong guidance as an Independent Director, and his contributions and wide-ranging knowledge have significantly contributed to the growth of the Company. Mr. Gabriel has added tremendous value over the last 6 years in his role as an Independent Director and as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Lemasson joined the Board in October 2013 as an Independent Director, and the Company has profited greatly from his experience and thoughtful contributions over the last year.

Mr. Harry Dobson, Chairman of the Company, said, "I have truly enjoyed working with Brian, Trevor and Claude. They have all made considerable contributions to the development of the Company, and the support they have provided, particularly over the last 5 years, has been very significant. I wish them every success in their future endeavors. The Company has reached some key milestones so far in this financial year and I am looking forward to working with our new directors in the development of the business."

Mr. Barry Richard Cooper, aged 62, retired from CIBC as the number one ranked gold analyst in the Brendon Wood survey covering the precious metals sector across North America. His independent studies on publicly traded companies, gold prices and the mining industry were well recognized by investors and corporations throughout his 17 year career as an equities analyst.

Prior to joining CIBC in 1996, Mr. Cooper was employed by Cameco Corp., the world's largest producer of uranium. At Cameco, Mr. Cooper was responsible for the company's gold diversification program, primarily in North America, but also in other parts of the world. Before joining Cameco, he worked as an exploration geologist in Western Canada and for Inco as a mine geologist at two of its nickel operations in Sudbury. Mr. Cooper graduated with an Earth Sciences degree from the University of Waterloo and obtained an MBA from the University of Saskatchewan.

Mr. Barry Paul Olson, aged 61, has over 25 years' experience in strategic management and leadership in engineering, construction, start-up and operations of gold mining companies, including Amax Gold Inc. where he spent 10 years (1988-98), Coeur (2001-2006), and more recently at Goldcorp Inc. where he moved from Vice-President to Senior Vice-President in Project Development from August 2006 to October 2013. He has successfully managed multi-billion dollar international projects with operations in Nevada, California, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina.

Mr. Jeffrey Scott Parr, aged 57, a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA 1984), received his Master of Business Administration degree from McMaster University in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Western Ontario in 1979. He has over 28 years of experience in the mining and service provider industries. He joined Centerra in 2006 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2008. From 1997 to 2006 he worked for Acres International as Chief Financial Officer, and from 1988 to 1997, held progressively senior financial positions at WMC International ultimately serving as the company's Executive Vice President.

Mr. Parr is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants, Financial Executives International (FEI Canada) and the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

A further announcement will be made following the conclusion of the AGM in respect of the proposed appointments.

About the Company

Kirkland Lake Gold's corporate goal is to create a self-sustaining and long-lived intermediate gold mining company based in the historic Kirkland Lake Gold Camp. The Company plans to do this by mining to the reserve grade, generating profits and free cash flow for the shareholders. The Company will also look to take advantage of its increased infrastructure capacity in the appropriate gold price environment. At the same time, the Company is committed to maintaining a significant exploration program aimed at developing and maintaining a property wide reserve and resource base sufficient to sustain a mine life of more than ten years.

Over the last several years the Company has invested significant capital to improve the infrastructure of the business including upgrading the production hoist, skips, mill, underground mobile equipment and capital development. From initial discovery to present day there have been over 24 million ounces of gold mined from the Kirkland Lake camp while the current reserve and resource provides for potentially 10 years of mining with significant exploration upside.