Because a company called Kirkland Lake Gold (KGI.TO, KGI.AIM) has scooped up all five of the town’s past-producing mines mentioned above. KGI’s geos knew there was high-grade gold left at depth in several of these, but they also had a good hunch that there was more high-grade gold to be found nearer to surface. They were right.

KGI now boasts 1.5 million ounces of gold in Proven and Probable mining reserves, at 19.2 g/t. Of these, 949,000 ounces are in the main South Mine Complex (SMC) area, averaging 22.3 g/t gold. That’s higher grade than Pretium’s famous Valley of the Kings discovery, but this one is already in profitable production.

The company also reports 2.0 million ounces of Measured and Indicated resources averaging 16.8 g/t gold and 1.8 million ounces Inferred at 19.2 g/t. These figures are as of December 31, 2014, and the company has been mining since then, but also making new high-grade discoveries.

Recent best results of exploration drilling include thick, bonanza-grade hits:

•276.0 g/t (172.1 g/t cut) over a true width of 2.0 meters.

•135.8 g/t (118.6 g/t cut) over 2.0 m.

•126.5 g/t (74.4 g/t cut) over 2.1 m.

•104.2 g/t (40.5 g/t cut) over 4.8 m.

Nice.

It’s results like this that made KGI a $20 stock in 2011. The slide from there down to the $2.40 range in December of 2013 was due to more than the retreat in gold itself. Prior management built a state-of-the-art gold mine and then failed to make it pay.

Heads rolled.

That same month, December 2013, the company’s new CEO, George Ogilvie, implemented a hiring freeze, a shutdown of lower-grade stopes, and major spending cuts.

The result: improved grade delivered to the mill, and shortly after, profit to the bottom line.

And that was no fluke; the company remains profitable today, despite gold’s continued decline in 2014 and its bottom-dragging this year.

FY15 results just out include:

•Head grade of 14.7 g/t

•Sold 155,709 ounces at an average price of US$1,228

•All-in cash cost per ounce of gold produced of US$1,152

•Net income of C$19.8 million or C$0.27 per share

•Generated free cash flow of C$30.7 million

•Cash as of April 30, 2015, was C$80.3 million

This is a textbook case of turnaround success. KGI will be a cash gusher when gold heads back up again.