West Red Lake Gold drills 21.44 g/t gold over 1.5 metres at Madsen Project, Ontario
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. [TSXV-WRLG; OTCQB: WRLGF; FSE: UJ0] reported additional drill results from the Upper 8 target at its 100%-owned Madsen property located in the Red Lake gold district of northwestern Ontario, Canada.
These results follow up on the significant Upper 8 intercepts previously announced on Oct. 2, 2024, where drilling returned 44.17 grams per tonne gold over 1.3 metres and 20.63 g/t gold over 0.5 metres.
Upper 8 highlights: Hole WRL24-017 intersected 1.5 m of 21.44 g/t Au, from 297.7 m to 299.2 m, including 0.5 m of 52.17 g/t Au, from 298.2 m to 298.7 m; this high-grade 0.5 m interval is complemented by approximately 30 specks of visible gold.
Hole WRL24-021 intersected two m of 7.41 g/t Au, from 340.25 m to 342.25 m, including 0.5 m of 23.74 g/t Au, from 340.25 m to 340.75 m.
West Red Lake Gold has now successfully defined a new ore shoot at Upper 8 that is approximately 30 m wide and 130 m along plunge; this new zone of mineralization remains open at depth.
The plunge line on the Upper 8 ore shoot has been constrained to an orientation at approximately 110 degrees/minus-40 degrees (azimuth/plunge), which is very similar to the orientation of the deeper 8 zone deposit; this increases West Red Lake Gold’s confidence in the potential to grow Upper 8 down-plunge with additional drilling.
Shane Williams, president and CEO, stated: “The initial results we received from Upper 8 were very encouraging and motivated our team to add a second drill to focus solely on this new high-grade area. Upper 8 was already a shallow geologic analogue to the deeper 8 zone, but, with the exceptional grades and visible gold showings, we’re now encountering this target is becoming truly reminiscent of the high-grade gold mineralization Red Lake is known for. It’s still early days, but we believe the Upper 8 target has the potential to become the next new significant discovery in the Red Lake gold camp and supports the likelihood for the presence of more high-grade deposits like 8 zone yet to be discovered across the Madsen property.”
The drill results featured in this news release are focused on the Upper 8 target, which is a shallower geologic analogue to the well-known high-grade 8 zone. The Upper 8 target is hosted within the same lithologic unit (Russet Lake ultramafic) approximately 750 m up-plunge from the main 8 zone deposit. Its location in ultramafic rocks, its style of mineralization and its exceptionally high grades make the 8 zone geologically unique from the main Madsen deposit. The 8 zone currently contains an indicated mineral resource of 87,700 ounces grading 18 g/t gold, with an additional inferred resource of 18,200 ounces grading 14.6 g/t Au.
Drilling on the Upper 8 target is designed to test the projected, near-surface extension of the mineralized shear corridor that hosts the highly prospective 8 zone. The Upper 8 target horizon was intercepted in only a few historic drill holes, which encountered a zone of strong shearing, alteration and quartz veining equivalent to 8 zone style mineralization.
The PFS for the Madsen mine is nearing completion. The final phase of this study involves optimizing underground development and infrastructure sequencing and refining the associated operating and capital costs. West Red Lake Gold is working with SRK Consulting on these optimization opportunities, a process that is expected to take an additional few weeks to complete. As such the PFS is now targeted for release early in 2025.
The company also announces that it has changed its fiscal year-end from November 30 to December 31.
The Madsen mine deposit presently hosts a NI 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 37,000 ounces 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 $1,800/oz.
The Madsen resource estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2021, and excludes depletion of mining activity during the period from Jan. 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.
West Red Lake Gold is developing its flagship Madsen gold mine and the associated 47 km2 prospective land package in the Red Lake district of Ontario. The highly productive Red Lake gold district has yielded over 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones and hosts some of the world’s richest gold deposits. West Red Lake Gold 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.