West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to report 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 South Austin Zone, which currently contains an Indicated mineral resource of 474,600 ounces grading 8.7 grams per tonne gold, with an additional Inferred resource of 31,800 oz grading 8.7 g/t Au.
The purpose of this drilling was definition within priority areas of South Austin 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. The Company expects to complete a pre-feasibility study outlining its restart plans in Q4.
SOUTH AUSTIN ZONE HIGHLIGHTS:
Shane Williams, President & CEO, stated, “The team is doing a fantastic job advancing the definition drilling program at Madsen that is essential for developing an inventory of high-confidence ounces to support the mine restart plan and our goal of getting Madsen back into production by H2 2025. The intercepts out of South Austin highlighted in this update are right on par with the exceptional results out of the Austin and McVeigh zones that have been announced over the last month. This consistency and quality between different mineral zones help to demonstrate the potential we see within the entirety of the Madsen deposit.”
Plan maps and section for the Austin and McVeigh drilling outlined in this release are provided in Figures 1 through 8. To see these drill holes in the context of a 3-dimensional model of the Madsen project mineral resource, click here. https://vrify.com/editor/decks/16990
TABLE 1. Significant intercepts (>3 g/t Au) from drilling at Austin Zone.
Hole ID | Target | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m)* | Au (g/t) |
MM24D-08-4447-001 | South Austin | 101.09 | 105.00 | 3.91 | 7.08 |
Incl. | 102.00 | 103.00 | 1.00 | 13.25 | |
AND | South Austin | 114.00 | 117.60 | 3.60 | 7.76 |
Incl. | 116.00 | 117.00 | 1.00 | 17.67 | |
MM24D-08-4447-002 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-003 | South Austin | 108.00 | 110.87 | 2.87 | 6.65 |
Incl. | 109.40 | 109.95 | 0.55 | 12.86 | |
MM24D-08-4447-004 | South Austin | 85.04 | 87.00 | 1.96 | 5.81 |
Incl. | 86.00 | 87.00 | 1.00 | 10.64 | |
AND | South Austin | 96.00 | 97.50 | 1.50 | 5.76 |
Incl. | 96.00 | 96.52 | 0.52 | 11.38 | |
MM24D-08-4447-005 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-006 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-007 | South Austin | 110.00 | 111.00 | 1.00 | 3.17 |
MM24D-08-4447-008 | South Austin | 93.00 | 94.00 | 1.00 | 4.86 |
MM24D-08-4447-009 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-010 | South Austin | 91.00 | 92.00 | 1.00 | 4.67 |
MM24D-08-4447-011 | South Austin | 102.69 | 104.00 | 1.31 | 5.91 |
MM24D-08-4447-012 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-013 | South Austin | 94.00 | 97.00 | 3.00 | 3.42 |
AND | South Austin | 103.70 | 105.10 | 1.40 | 20.28 |
MM24D-08-4447-014 | South Austin | 74.05 | 77.35 | 3.30 | 15.69 |
Incl. | 75.00 | 75.80 | 0.80 | 39.93 | |
Also Incl. | 76.85 | 77.35 | 0.50 | 19.43 | |
MM24D-08-4447-015 | South Austin | 109.00 | 109.70 | 0.70 | 3.62 |
MM24D-08-4447-016 | South Austin | 89.00 | 94.00 | 5.00 | 9.16 |
Incl. | 89.00 | 90.00 | 1.00 | 35.00 | |
MM24D-08-4447-017 | South Austin | 77.00 | 79.85 | 2.85 | 3.71 |
AND | South Austin | 88.00 | 89.00 | 1.00 | 3.24 |
MM24D-08-4447-018 | South Austin | 107.00 | 109.00 | 2.00 | 3.82 |
MM24D-08-4447-019 | South Austin | 105.00 | 111.30 | 6.30 | 12.38 |
Incl. | 106.00 | 107.00 | 1.00 | 31.39 | |
Also Incl. | 108.00 | 110.00 | 2.00 | 17.19 | |
MM24D-08-4447-020 | South Austin | 93.45 | 96.00 | 2.55 | 3.42 |
AND | South Austin | 105.00 | 111.50 | 6.50 | 6.19 |
Incl. | 110.50 | 111.00 | 0.50 | 21.81 | |
AND | South Austin | 112.00 | 113.00 | 1.00 | 3.63 |
MM24D-08-4447-021 | South Austin | 98.00 | 100.00 | 2.00 | 3.36 |
MM24D-08-4447-022 | South Austin | 98.00 | 98.50 | 0.50 | 20.77 |
AND | South Austin | 102.00 | 102.60 | 0.60 | 29.57 |
MM24D-08-4447-023 | South Austin | 111.70 | 113.90 | 2.20 | 19.05 |
Incl. | 112.25 | 113.90 | 1.65 | 22.77 | |
MM24D-08-4447-024 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-025 | South Austin | 106.00 | 117.20 | 11.20 | 18.46 |
Incl. | 107.00 | 111.00 | 4.00 | 34.41 | |
Also Incl. | 113.00 | 113.50 | 0.50 | 10.21 | |
Also Incl. | 114.50 | 116.00 | 1.50 | 32.13 | |
MM24D-08-4447-026 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-027 | South Austin | 114.00 | 114.80 | 0.80 | 3.82 |
AND | South Austin | 125.90 | 126.40 | 0.50 | 8.40 |
MM24D-08-4447-028 | South Austin | 118.50 | 122.50 | 4.00 | 20.63 |
Incl. | 120.30 | 121.00 | 0.70 | 95.59 | |
MM24D-08-4447-029 | South Austin | 120.25 | 124.00 | 3.75 | 3.06 |
AND | South Austin | 125.95 | 128.00 | 2.05 | 3.53 |
MM24D-08-4447-030 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-031 | South Austin | 95.00 | 96.80 | 1.80 | 16.06 |
MM24D-08-4447-032 | South Austin | 88.95 | 89.80 | 0.85 | 3.50 |
AND | South Austin | 91.45 | 94.00 | 2.55 | 3.47 |
MM24D-08-4447-033 | South Austin | 100.26 | 102.00 | 1.74 | 74.92 |
MM24D-08-4447-034 | South Austin | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | |||
MM24D-08-4447-035 | South Austin | 114.91 | 119.39 | 4.48 | 49.39 |
Incl. | 116.00 | 118.50 | 2.50 | 76.51 |
*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.
Hole ID | Target | Easting | Northing | Elev (m) | Length (m) | Azimuth | Dip |
MM24D-08-4447-001 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 50.6 | 125 | -24 |
MM24D-08-4447-002 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 83.0 | 136 | -18 |
MM24D-08-4447-003 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 88.8 | 138 | -26 |
MM24D-08-4447-004 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 81.0 | 139 | -17 |
MM24D-08-4447-005 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 95.1 | 139 | -31 |
MM24D-08-4447-006 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 75.2 | 141 | -18 |
MM24D-08-4447-007 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 111.0 | 143 | -24 |
MM24D-08-4447-008 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 100.3 | 146 | -10 |
MM24D-08-4447-009 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 105.0 | 146 | -17 |
MM24D-08-4447-010 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 102.3 | 147 | -6 |
MM24D-08-4447-011 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 111.0 | 147 | -14 |
MM24D-08-4447-012 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 81.0 | 149 | -23 |
MM24D-08-4447-013 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 90.0 | 148 | -13 |
MM24D-08-4447-014 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 75.0 | 151 | -7 |
MM24D-08-4447-015 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 57.0 | 151 | -16 |
MM24D-08-4447-016 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 66.0 | 155 | -11 |
MM24D-08-4447-017 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 60.0 | 155 | -7 |
MM24D-08-4447-018 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 90.0 | 155 | -25 |
MM24D-08-4447-019 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 63.0 | 155 | -16 |
MM24D-08-4447-020 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 72.0 | 160 | -13 |
MM24D-08-4447-021 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 78.0 | 160 | -9 |
MM24D-08-4447-022 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 84.0 | 162 | -20 |
MM24D-08-4447-023 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 66.0 | 162 | -24 |
MM24D-08-4447-024 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 72.0 | 163 | -10 |
MM24D-08-4447-025 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 66.0 | 163 | -15 |
MM24D-08-4447-026 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 63.0 | 167 | -21 |
MM24D-08-4447-027 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 75.0 | 167 | -16 |
MM24D-08-4447-028 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 66.0 | 169 | -26 |
MM24D-08-4447-029 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 63.0 | 173 | -8 |
MM24D-08-4447-030 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 75.0 | 173 | -25 |
MM24D-08-4447-031 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 75.0 | 173 | -21 |
MM24D-08-4447-032 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 85.0 | 173 | -15 |
MM24D-08-4447-033 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 72.0 | 173 | -19 |
MM24D-08-4447-034 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 66.0 | 171 | -18 |
MM24D-08-4447-035 | South Austin | 435513 | 5646365 | 9 | 69.0 | 171 | -24 |
DISCUSSION
Accessed through the Madsen Mine West Portal, the South Austin Zone sits south in the hanging wall of the main Austin Zone. Like the other mineralized domains that comprise the Madsen Mine, the South Austin structure is 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 2024.
High resolution versions of all the figures contained in this press release can be found at the following web address: https://westredlakegold.com/september-24th-news-release-maps/
FIGURE 1. Madsen Mine long section showing location of 08-4447 Drill Bay in the South Austin Zone.[1]
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
FIGURE 2. South Austin plan view drill section showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-001 through -035.[1]
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
FIGURE 3. South Austin section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-001 through -007.[1] Holes -002 through -007 broke into historic stopes.
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
FIGURE 4. South Austin section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-008 through -012.[1] Holes -008, -009, -011 and –012 broke into historic stopes.
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca
FIGURE 5. South Austin section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-013 through -016.[1] Holes -013, -015 and -016 broke into historic stopes.
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
FIGURE 6. South Austin section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-017 through -021.[1] Holes -018 through -021 broke into historic stopes.
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
FIGURE 7. South Austin section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-022 through -028.[1] Hole -025 broke into a historic stope.
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
FIGURE 8. South Austin section view showing assay highlights for Holes MM24D-08-4447-029 through -035.[1] Holes -033 and -034 broke into historic stopes.
[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. 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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
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 (“Moz”) 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”.
GRANT OF RESTRICTED SHARE UNITS
The Company also announces the grant of restricted share units in accordance with the Company’s restricted share unit, performance share unit, and deferred share unit compensation plan. Certain Officers and employees of the Company were granted an aggregate of 450,000 RSUs which will vest over three years in three equal tranches on the first, second and third anniversary of the grant date. The grant of RSUs is subject to regulatory acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
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 km2 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 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.
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