West Red Lake Gold Highlights Bulk Sample Learnings
June 3, 2025
Vancouver, BC
West Red Lake Gold Highlights Bulk Sample Learnings
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (“West Red Lake Gold” or “WRLG” or the “Company”)
(TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to report how learnings from the test mining and
bulk sample program at its 100% owned Madsen Mine (the “Project”) in the Red Lake Gold
District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada , are translating directly into a detailed mine plan
with generally larger stopes , greater mining efficiencies, and lower cost mining methods
than anticipated.
The test mining and bulk sample program had two goals:
1. To confirm that the geologic, engineering, and mining workflow at Madsen enables
the Company to model and mine mineralization accurately.
2. To test various mining scenarios and use the results to enable confident mine design
that maximizes economic extraction.
The bulk sample results (reported on May 7 ) achieved the first goal. Close reconciliation
between expected and actual tonnes, grade, and contained ounces across six stopes in
three areas of the resource validates the Company’s ability to mine at Madsen according to
plan.
The Company also succeeded with the second goal. Test mining demonstrated the ability to
mine up against historic stopes, which reduced barriers in stope design and unlocked some
resource potential.
Test mining also highlighted the efficiency of mining larger stopes and mining clusters of
proximal stope s ( known as mining complexes ), two notable opportunities that are
developing at Madsen because mine design is both a technical and economic exercise.
The workflow that leads to detailed mine design at Madsen is as follows:
1. Each resource area is definition-drilled to a drill hole spacing averaging 7 meters.
2. The in-house, short-term model is updated to incorporate the new drill data.
3. Stopes are engineered based on the updated model to maximize economic
extraction of mineralization, at an assumed gold price.
Gold mineralization at Madsen often comprises high -grade lenses surrounded by lower -
grade mineralized halos. The above workflow is designed in part to define high-grade lenses
of gold mineralization that can go unnoticed with wider-spaced data sets. Recent high-grade
drill results from the South Austin area (see news releases from May 27 , May 13 , and
February 26) demonstrate this potential. Definition drill ing also enables accurate modeling
of lower-grade halo mineralization ahead of stope design.
West Red Lake Gold is currently using the consensus long-term price of US$2,350 per ounce
(“oz.”) in mine design, compared to a gold price of US$1,680 per oz. used for the mine plan
in the Madsen Mine Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) [1]. The relatively low gold price in the PFS
led to a mine plan with 60% of the mining being small, high-grade stopes requiring the use
of cut-and-fill mining, the more selective and higher cost of the two mining methods outlined
for use at Madsen [1a]. In addition, the need to drive access es between multiple small
stopes contributed to relatively high sustaining capital needs over the mine life.
The PFS mine plan generated strong economics that supported the restart decision .
However, u sing a higher gold price in stope design effectively lowers the cutoff grade for
resource inclusion, bringing additional resource tonnes and more overall ounces into
consideration for mine planning.
When lower grade tonnes prove to be economic, it can result in larger stopes encompassing
one or several high -grade gold lenses with surrounding halo mineralization . It can also
define new mining shapes around proximal areas of mineralization that were not previously
considered. This is especially possible where definition drilling has defined or expanded
high-grade lenses, which have the potential to mitigate the impact on head grade of
including lower grade tonnes over the life of mine.
Figure 1: Visible gold in sill access development on 1 Level McVeigh.
Larger stopes and clusters of proximal stopes, known as mining complexes, have potential
to increase a mine’s economic benefit and scale as compared to smaller , isolated stopes
because they can positively impact three key economic drivers:
1. Mining cost: Larger stopes can generally be mined via long hole stoping. Long hole
stoping is significantly lower cost per tonne compared to cut and fill mining [1b]. The
Madsen Mine bulk sample was mined exclusively by long hole stoping methods with
a very high success rate and the majority of the 18-month detailed mine plan is long
hole mining.
2. Cost of access development per tonne mined: Larger stopes and stopes clustered in
mining complexes spread the cost of developing access to a mining area over more
ounces produced from that area, reducing the cost impact of access development.
3. Flexibility and efficiency: The ability for a mine to focus on few large mining complexes
at any given time rather than multiple isolated stopes greatly supports efficiency in
equipment, personnel, and material movement planning. The Company is
experiencing this efficiency advantage already at site.
Figures 2 through 4 below highlight a few examples of mining complexes where the tonnage
and ounce profile increased through the definition drilling, resource model updating, and
economic stope design workflow.
Figure 2. Image showing South Austin 4447 stope complex (blue). This area realized a
212% increase in tonnage and 320% increase in contained ounces mainly driven by
definition drilling.
Figure 3. Image showing Austin 1099/1100 stope complex (blue). This area realized a 204%
increase in tonnage and 222% increase in contained ounces mainly driven by definition
drilling.
Figure 4. Image showing McVeigh 1453 stope complex (blue). This area realized a 32%
increase in tonnage and 18% increase in contained ounces mainly driven by definition
drilling.
A more global potential benefit from mining larger stopes at Madsen is mining more of the
resource. A mine plan based on a gold price of US$1,680 per oz. depletes the deposit
relatively quickly, which is evident in a PFS probable reserve of only 478,000 ounces in 1.87
million tonnes grading 8.2 g/t gold mined in 7 years [1c], from a deposit with a total indicated
resource of 1.65 million ounces of gold hosted in 6.9 million tonnes of rock averaging 7.4 g/t
gold (the combined indicated resource for the Austin, South Austin, McVeigh, and 8 Zones )
[1d]. The Madsen Mine PFS described the potential for more of the resource to be considered
for mining if a higher gold price was used [1e].
A gold price environment that allows mine design to convert more of the resource into
reserve suggests a longer mine life than outlined in the PFS, which is expected to have a
positive impact on long-term profitability and overall project economics.
Close reconciliation between expected and actual tonnes and grade in the bulk sample
suggests that t he Company’s approach – appropriate definition drilling, responsive mine
engineering, and disciplined, efficient mining – is creating the ability to mine at Madsen
according to plan . The mine engineering and design process is a technical and economic
exercise that responds to the price of gold . This will remain the Company’s practice at the
Madsen Mine.
Other News
The Company has received and accepted the resignation of Jasvir Kaloti as Corporate
Secretary. The management and board of directors of the Company wish to thank Ms.
Kaloti for her service and wish her well in the future.
Efforts are in progress to identify a suitable Corporate Secretary candidate and Harpreet
Dhaliwal, Chief Financial Officer, will hold this position in the interim.
Footnotes
1. Please refer to the technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report and Prefeasibility
Study for the Madsen Mine, Ontario, Canada” , prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc.
and dated January 7, 2025 . A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s
website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
a. See PFS Section 16.5.3 Mining Methods – Underground Mining Methods – Planned
Mining Methods.
b. See PFS Report Section 21.3.2 Capital and Operating Costs – Operating Cost
Estimates – Mining.
c. Mineral reserve estimates based on a gold price of US$1,680/oz and an exchange
rate of 1.31 C$/US$. Longhole stope cut -off grade of 4.30 gpt Au based on an
estimated operating cost of C$287.34/t including mining, plant and G&A.
Mechanized Cut and Fill stope cut-off grade of 5.28 gpt Au based on an estimated
operating cost of C$354.90/t including mining, plant and G&A. Incremental
development cut-off grade of 1 gpt Au. A small amount of incremental longhole
tonnes were included at a cut-off grade of not less than 3.4 gpt Au, these must be
immediately adjacent to economic stopes that will pay for the capital to access
area.
d. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price
of US$1,800/oz. Mineral resources are not considered mineral reserves as they
have not demonstrated economic viability.
e. See Section 24.1 Other Relevant Data – Gold Price Sensitivity.
The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved
by Will Robinson, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for West Red Lake Gold and the
Qualified Person for exploration at the West Red Lake Project, and by Maurice Mostert,
P.Eng., Vice President of Technical Services for West Red Lake Gold and the Qualified
Person for technical services at the West Red Lake Project, as defined by National
Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ABOUT WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. is a mineral development company that is publicly traded
and focused on advancing and developing its flagship Madsen Gold Mine and the associated
47 km 2 highly prospective land package in the Red Lake district of Ontario. The highly
productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada has yielded over 30 million
ounces of gold from high -grade zones and hosts some of the world's richest gold depo sits.
WRLG also holds the wholly owned Rowan Property in Red Lake, with an expansive property
position covering 31 km 2 including three past producing gold mines - Rowan, Mount Jamie,
and Red Summit.