Mr. Anthony Makuch reports

KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD REPORTS STRONG Q4 2016 AND FULL YEAR FINANCIAL RESULTS; INITIATES DIVIDEND POLICY

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. has released financial results for the three and 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2016. Full financial statements and management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) documents can be found under the SEDAR profile of Kirkland Lake Gold and on the company's website. Effective on Dec. 31, 2016, the company advises that it has changed its reporting currency from Canadian to U.S. dollars, and, accordingly, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

2016 full-year highlights:

• Record revenue -- consolidated record revenue of $406.7-million from gold sales of 329,489 ounces at an average realized price of $1,234 per ounce;
• Record-low operating cash cost and all-in sustaining cost (AISC) per ounce sold -- total production costs of $198.4-million, resulting in operating cost per ounce sold and AISC per ounce sold of $571 and $923, respectively, below the lower range of the 2016 cost guidance;
• Generation of significant free cash flow -- operating cash flow of $180.9-million, or $1.49 per basic share; free cash flow of $107.2-million, or 88 cents per basic share;
• Net earnings -- the company's net earnings for 2016 were $42.1-million, or 35 cents per basic share (46 Canadian cents), and adjusted net earnings for the same period were $75.3-million, or 62 cents per adjusted basic share (82 Canadian cents); adjusted net earnings (and adjusted basic share) exclude the items that do not reflect the underlying operations of the company, including the transaction costs associated with the acquisition of Newmarket Gold Inc. and the business combination with St. Andrew Goldfields Ltd., as well as one-time severance costs associated with the transition of Stawell to care and maintenance;
• Strong financial position -- cash balance of $234.9-million and working capital of $92.3-million;
• Record gold production -- consolidated operations achieved gold production of 314,495 ounces, including 18,657 ounces from operations in Australia from Nov. 30, 2016, onward, surpassing previously announced 2016 production guidance of 270,000 to 290,000 ounces of gold;
• Increased 2016 mineral reserves at flagship mines -- Macassa mineral reserves increased by 37 per cent to 2.01 million ounces of gold, accompanied by a 7-per-cent increase in average grade to 20.8 grams per tonne gold; Fosterville mineral reserves increased by 66 per cent to 643,000 ounces of gold, accompanied by a 27-per-cent increase in average grade to 9.2 grams per tonne Au;
• Completed acquisition of St. Andrew Goldfields and business combination with Newmarket Gold, resulting in the creation of a mid-tier gold company, targeting 2017 gold production of 500,000 to 525,000 ounces.

2016 fourth quarter highlights:

• Record-low operating cash costs and AISC per ounce sold -- total production costs of $66.2-million, resulting in operating cash cost per ounce sold and AISC per ounce sold of $533 and $883, respectively;
• Net earnings -- $3.1-million, or two cents (three Canadian cents) per basic share, and adjusted net earnings of $27.9-million, or 19 cents (25 Canadian cents) per basic share, when excluding one-time costs as described in the full-year highlights above;
• Decreased royalties -- buyback of 1 per cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the company's landholdings in the Kirkland Lake camp, reducing the royalty rate on gold revenue at Macassa from 2.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent;
• Record gold production -- total gold production of 106,609 ounces, led by the Macassa mine totalling 52,318 ounces, based on a record run of mine grade of 21.6 grams per tonne Au and record mill recovery of 97.6 per cent; for the one month ended Dec. 31, 2016, Fosterville produced 13,196 ounces of gold based on record monthly mined grade of 11 grams per tonne Au and recovery of 91.7 per cent.

Anthony Makuch, president and chief executive officer of Kirkland Lake Gold, stated: "I am extremely pleased with the strong results from our operations in 2016, particularly our flagship Macassa and Fosterville mines, where an increasing grade profile and improved recoveries continue to drive record production. From a financial perspective, we have ended 2016 with adjusted net earnings of 62 cents per basic share, cash flow from operations of $180.9-million, operating cash costs of $571 per ounce sold and AISC of $923 per ounce sold. Furthermore, I am very pleased to announce the initiation of a dividend policy as this demonstrates confidence in our growth profile, free cash flow generation and supports our commitment to deliver value for our shareholders.

"We remain focused on execution and continuous improvement as we work to unlock significant value across our quality assets in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions. Advancing our exploration initiatives is a key priority for the company, and, already, exploration success on near-mine targets have been delivering exciting results, including 1,429 grams per tonne Au over 15.15 metres (estimated true width of 4.97 metres) at Fosterville."

Corporate development

The company is pleased to announce that the board of directors has approved a dividend policy recommending the payment of a quarterly dividend of one Canadian cent per common share (four Canadian cents per common share annually). The inaugural quarterly dividend of one Canadian cent per common share is payable on July 14, 2017, to shareholders of record as at the close of business on June 30, 2017.

The declaration and payment of dividends remain at the discretion of the board of directors and will depend on the company's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors deemed relevant by the board.

Consolidated financial summary

The attached table provides key summarized consolidated financial information for the company's operations for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2016, as well as comparative figures for the two months and eight months ended Dec. 31, 2015.

                                       CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL SUMMARY 
                           (in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per-share amounts) 

                                                     Three months      Two months            Year     Eight months
                                                            ended           ended           ended            ended
                                                          Dec. 31,        Dec. 31,        Dec. 31,        December, 
                                                             2016            2015            2016             2015

Revenue                                                  $134,225         $27,860        $406,664         $115,796
Production costs                                           66,152          15,399         198,369           64,730
Net earnings before taxes                                  11,194           1,888          73,263           12,802
Net earnings                                                3,076             609          42,107            5,731
Earnings per share -- basic                                  0.02            0.01            0.35             0.07
Earnings per share -- diluted                                0.02            0.01            0.34             0.07
Cash flow from operations                                  65,014          11,388         180,928           39,358
Cash investment on mine development,
and property, plant and equipment                          23,885            5,17           73,69           26,258
Adjusted net earnings                                      27,909             609          75,282            5,731
Adjusted net earnings per share                              0.19            0.01            0.62             0.07

                                          CONSOLIDATED KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
  
                                                     Three months      Two months            Year     Eight months
                                                            ended           ended           ended            ended
                                                          Dec. 31,        Dec. 31,        Dec. 31,        December, 
                                                             2016            2015            2016             2015

Tonnes milled                                             469,968          62,158       1,304,037          225,729
Grade (g/t Au)                                                7.5            14.1             7.9             14.4
Recovery (%)                                                 93.6            97.2            95.1             97.1
Gold produced (oz)                                        106,609          27,604         314,495          102,597
Gold sold (oz)                                            111,690          25,284         329,489          101,094
Average realized price ($/oz sold)                         $1,202          $1,102          $1,234           $1,145
Operating cash cost per ounce ($/oz sold)                    $533            $604            $571             $638
AISC ($/oz sold)                                             $883          $1,006            $923             $970

2016 year-end and fourth quarter financial results, and conference call details

A conference call will be held by senior management to discuss the full financial results for the three and 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2016, on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT). The call will be webcast and accessible on the company's website in the investor section under events.

2016 year-end and fourth quarter conference call details

Date:  Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Conference ID:  49352992

Time:  11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT)

Toll-free number:  1-877-201-0168

International callers:  1-647-788-4901

Webcast:  on-line

Upcoming events:

• European Gold Forum -- Zurich, Switzerland;
• Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum -- Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

Qualified persons

Pierre Rocque, PEng, vice-president of technical services, is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved disclosure of the technical information and data in this news release.

All updated NI 43-101 technical reports in support of the company's news releases issued on March 28, 2017, entitled "Kirkland Lake Gold Increases Mineral Reserves at Flagship Macassa Mine by 37% and Fosterville Mine by 66%" will be filed on March 30, 2017, on SEDAR.

About Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.

Kirkland Lake Gold is a mid-tier gold producer targeting approximately 525,000 ounces in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Canada and Australia. The production profile of the company is anchored from two high-grade, low-cost operations, including the Macassa mine located in Northeastern Ontario and the Fosterville mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Kirkland Lake Gold's solid base of quality assets is complemented by district-scale exploration potential, supported by a strong financial position with extensive management and operational expertise.

We seek Safe Harbor.