West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to report definition drill results from its 100% owned Madsen Mine located in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The drill results featured in this news release are focused on the high-grade McVeigh Zone. The McVeigh Zone currently contains an Indicated mineral resource of 79,800 oz grading 6.4 g/t Au, with an additional Inferred resource of 14,300 oz grading 6.9 g/t Au.

These results follow-up on the significant intercepts previously announced on August 12, 2024 and August 27, 2024 from McVeigh – where drilling highlights included 106.99 g/t Au over 2.35 meters and 17.77 g/t Au over 5.5 m, respectively.

The purpose of this drilling was definition within priority areas of McVeigh to continue building an inventory of high-confidence ounces to support the restart of production at the Madsen Mine, which is expected to commence in 2025.

MCVEIGH ZONE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Hole MM24D-02-4090-010 Intersected 3.85m @ 45.70 g/t Au, from 14.00m to 17.85m, Including 0.85m @ 127.27 g/t Au, from 17.00m to 17.85m; And 1.55m @ 44.89 g/t Au, from 22.45m to 24.00m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-015 Intersected 3m @ 50.99 g/t Au, from 14m to 17m, Including 1m @ 141.53 g/t Au, from 15m to 16m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-006 Intersected 16m @ 8.75 g/t Au, from 20m to 36m, Including 1m @ 77.92 g/t Au, from 21m to 22m, Also Including 1m @ 15.63 g/t Au, from 24m to 25m, Also Including 1.5m @ 14.68 g/t Au, from 30.0m to 31.5m, Also Including 2m @ 11.16 g/t Au, from 33m to 35m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-004 Intersected 3m @ 33.66 g/t Au, from 18m to 21m, Including 1m @ 97.16 g/t Au, from 18m to 19m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-012 Intersected 3m @ 28.64 g/t Au, from 19m to 22m, Including 2m @ 40.17 g/t Au, from 20m to 22m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-053 Intersected 8m @ 7.67 g/t Au, from 58.85m to 66.85m, Including 0.5m @ 24.83 g/t Au, from 59.35m to 59.85m, Also Including 0.5m @ 46.99 g/t Au, from 65.85m to 66.35m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-020 Intersected 4m @ 13.22 g/t Au, from 15m to 19m, Including 1m @ 23.68 g/t Au, from 16m to 17m, Also Including 1m @ 22.78 g/t Au, from 18m to 19m. This interval was complimented by eight (8) specks of visible gold.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-024 Intersected 4m @ 11.47 g/t Au, from 17m to 21m, Including 1m @ 33.64 g/t Au, from 19m to 20m.
• Hole MM24D-02-4090-016 Intersected 7m @ 6.50 g/t Au, from 37m to 44m, Including 1m @ 31.57 g/t Au, from 39m to 40m.

Shane Williams, President & CEO, stated, “As the site operational team advances test mining and stockpiles the bulk sample, the two underground drills continue to turn and continue to intercept broad zones of high-grade gold mineralization. The McVeigh zone is a shallow and easily accessible portion of the Madsen deposit and will be a key focus area during early phases of mining. The tight spaced drilling we are completing at McVeigh coupled with our enhanced geologic model and understanding of the structural controls will enable the engineering team to produce a very robust and high confidence mine plan that will reduce both external and internal dilution during mining.”

Plan maps and section for the Austin and McVeigh drilling outlined in this release are provided in Figures 1 through 16.

TABLE 1. Significant intercepts (>3 g/t Au) from drilling at McVeigh Zone.

*The “From-To” intervals in Table 1 are denoting overall downhole length of the intercept. True thickness has not been calculated for these intercepts but is expected to be ≥ 70% of downhole thickness based on intercept angles observed in the drill core. Internal dilution for composite intervals does not exceed 1m for samples grading <0.1 g/t Au.

TABLE 2: Drill collar summary for holes reported in this News Release.

DISCUSSION

The McVeigh zone is currently accessed through the Madsen Mine West Portal. Upon completion of the Connection Drift, it will be accessed via the East Portal. Like the other mineralized domains that comprise the Madsen Mine, the McVeigh structures are hosted within broad, kilometer-scale planar alteration and deformation corridors that have been repeatedly reactivated during gold mineralization and subsequent deformation and metamorphism.

At the deposit scale the Austin, South Austin, North Austin, and McVeigh Zones are locally folded and structurally dismembered by transposition and rotation into the penetrative S2 Foliation. In addition to this intense deformation overprint, the mineralized veins and alteration have been subjected to the relatively high temperatures of amphibolite facies metamorphism, which led to extensive recrystallization and growth of the skarn-like replacement mineral assemblage of diopside-amphibole-quartz-biotite.

All significant gold mineralization on the mine property is demonstrably early relative to the most significant, penetrative deformation (D2) and metamorphic events. The North Austin Zone displays ‘mine-style’ alteration and mineralization and consists of multiple mineralized domains defined over a strike length of 0.5km. Mineralization remains open at depth and along strike to the northeast.

In drill core, or at underground face exposures, gold-bearing zones at the Madsen Mine are best identified visually by fine (sub-millimetre) grains of free gold within strong alteration and veining. All high-grade intervals generally contain visible gold on drill core exteriors, although numerous examples exist of high-grade assays where visible gold was only identified within the interior (cut surface) of the core samples. Apart from the presence of free gold, pervasive silicification (locally accompanied by discrete quartz veining) and quartz-carbonate or diopside veining are the best indicators that a given interval is within a high-grade zone along/within the mineralized structure.

The current underground drilling program at the Madsen Mine is focused on further definition of near-term mining inventory, as well as growth of the current mineral resource. Drilling has been focused on the more continuous and higher-grade portions of the Austin, South Austin, North Austin and McVeigh Zones. This will continue to be the strategy through 2025.

High resolution versions of all the figures contained in this press release can be found at the following web address: https://westredlakegold.com/january-20-nr-maps/

FIGURE 1. Madsen Mine long section showing location of 02-4090 Drill Bay in McVeigh Zone.[1]

FIGURE 2. McVeigh plan view drill section showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-0490-001 through -055.

FIGURE 3. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-001 through -005.

FIGURE 4. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-006 through -010.

FIGURE 5. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-011 through -015. Holes -012, -013 and -015 broke into historic workings.

FIGURE 6. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-016 through -020. Holes -017, -018 and -020 broke into historic workings.

FIGURE 7. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-021 through -024. Holes -021, -023 and -024 broke into historic workings.

FIGURE 8. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-025 through -028.

FIGURE 9. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-029 through -031.

FIGURE 10. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-032 through -034.

FIGURE 11. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-035 through -039.

FIGURE 12. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-040 through -043.

FIGURE 13. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-044 through -047.

FIGURE 14. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-048 through -050.

FIGURE 15. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-051 and -052.

FIGURE 16. McVeigh section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-02-4090-053 through -055.

QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL

Drilling completed underground at the Madsen Mine consists of BQ-sized diamond drill core for definition drill programs and oriented NQ-sized diamond drill core for exploration focused drilling. All drill holes are systematically logged, photographed, and sampled by a trained geologist at the Madsen Mine core processing facility. Minimum allowable sample length is 0.5m. Maximum allowable sample length is 1.5m. Control samples (certified standards and uncertified blanks), along duplicates, are inserted at a target 5% insertion rate. Results are assessed for accuracy, precision, and contamination on an ongoing basis. The BQ-sized drill core is whole core sampled. The NQ-sized drill core is then cut lengthwise utilizing a diamond blade core saw along a line pre-selected by the geologist. To reduce sampling bias, the same side of drill core is sampled consistently utilizing the orientation line as reference. For those samples containing visible gold, a trained geologist supervises the cutting/bagging of those samples, and ensures the core saw blade is ‘cleaned’ with a dressing stone following the VG sample interval. Bagged samples are then sealed with zip ties and transported by Madsen Mine personnel directly to SGS Natural Resource’s Facility in Red Lake, Ontario for assay.

Samples are then prepped by SGS, which consists of drying at 105°C and crushing to 75% passing 2mm. A riffle splitter is then utilized to produce a 500g course reject for archive. The remainder of the sample is then pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns from which 50g is analyzed by fire assay and an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish (SGS Code GO-FAA50V10). Samples returning gold values > 100 g/t Au are reanalyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on a 50g sample (SGS Code GO_FAG50V). Samples with visible gold are also analyzed via metallic screen analysis (SGS code: GO_FAS50M). For multi-element analysis, samples are sent to SGS’s facility in Burnaby, British Columbia and analyzed via four-acid digest with an atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) finish for 33-element analysis on 0.25g sample pulps (SGS code: GE_ICP40Q12). SGS Natural Resources analytical laboratories operates under a Quality Management System that complies with ISO/IEC 17025.

The Madsen Mine deposit presently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects Indicated resource of 1.65 million ounces of gold grading 7.4 g/t Au and an Inferred resource of 0.37 Moz of gold grading 6.3 g/t Au. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please refer to the technical report entitled “Independent NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the PureGold Mine, Canada”, prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. and dated June 16, 2023, and amended April 24, 2024. The Madsen Resource Estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2021 and excludes depletion of mining activity during the period from January 1, 2022 to the mine closure on October 24, 2022 as it has been deemed immaterial and not relevant for the purpose of the Madsen Report. A full copy of the Madsen Report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

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, as defined by NI 43-101 “Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects”.

ABOUT WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. is a mineral exploration company that is publicly traded and focused on advancing and developing its flagship Madsen Gold Mine and the associated 47 km²highly 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 deposits. WRLG also holds the wholly owned Rowan Property in Red Lake, with an expansive property position covering 31 km² including three past producing gold mines – Rowan, Mount Jamie, and Red Summit.