West Red Lake Gold Mines continues bulk sampling at Madsen mine project, Ontario
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. [TSXV: WRLG; OTCQB: WRLGF; FSE: UJ0] provided an update on restart readiness activities, including the in-progress bulk sample, at its 100%-owned Madsen mine project in the Red Lake Gold District of northwestern Ontario.
“With test mining under way, bulk sample stockpiles building on surface and the mill set to initiate campaign processing in the coming weeks, we have achieved many key operational milestones at the mine site,” said Shane Williams, president and chief executive officer. “The connection drift development and test mining efforts have been very successful to date, which is a testament to our mine crews’ ability to operate safely and efficiently. I’m proud to say that the ramps, sills and stopes we are developing at Madsen are best in class.
“Things are increasingly busy across the site with final installation work under way for the camp and mine dry facilities, mine engineering picking up pace, and a head count that stands at 185 employees and 50 contractors currently active on site. The team is excited to get the bulk sample complete, which is expected to demonstrate that our approach to mining at Madsen works, followed by rolling into production mining and processing with an aim to start selling gold into this record price environment, where gold is selling for over $4,100 per ounce today.”
The bulk sample program includes plans to mine at least 10,000 tonnes of material from six stopes. The company prioritized parts of the Madsen resource for extraction early in the mine life based on grade, tonnage and ease of access. These areas saw access development, definition drilling and mine engineering over the last 16 months and now constitute the mineral inventory in the 12-month detailed mine plan. The bulk sample program targets stopes in three such areas: the 1099/1100 area of the Austin resource, the 1407 area of the McVeigh resource, and the 987 area of the South Austin resource.
Bulk sampling from several areas amplifies the benefits of test mining by testing drill density and modelling techniques for different zones of the deposit; allowing crews to deploy the range of mining methods that will be used at Madsen; and helping to solidify mining procedures in proximity to old workings by validating historical data and confirming geotechnical competence assumptions (with respect to both void and backfilled historical stopes).
At present, 3,380 tonnes of bulk sample material are on surface from two stopes. The remaining stopes will be drilled, blasted and mucked over the coming weeks.
“The first stopes mined have provided valuable insights into the effectiveness of the drill and blast designs, the geological modelling techniques, and the overall development processes required,” said Maurice Mostert, vice-president, technical services. “Initial results are showing that our drill and blast techniques and design criteria are very effective at controlling fragmentation size and dilution.”
West Red Lake Gold has engaged independent third party engineering contractors Entech Inc. and Soutex Inc. to audit the mining and processing portions of the bulk sample process, respectively.
“The bulk sample program is our first opportunity to demonstrate that our Madsen mine approach, based on intensive definition drilling, clear confidence and financial requirements for mine engineering, and appropriate mining methods, can deliver the expected tonnes and grades to the mill,” said Williams. “We hired Entech and Soutex because we want the results of this bulk sample to be further substantiated by third party independent review.”
The mill is scheduled to restart later this month, after 28 months of maintained dry shutdown. First feed will be 3,000 tonnes of legacy low-grade material to pack out the grinding mills and establish dead beads in the process tanks. Feed will then transition to low-grade material mined by West Red Lake Gold.
Once recommissioned, the mill will process the bulk sample. Each stope will be processed individually to enable full reconciliation calculations between expected and actual tonnes, grades and ounces.
West Red Lake Gold has completed multiple pre-commissioning projects and tests at the mill. This includes replacing the mill liners and discharge lines, reclaiming water feed lines, recycling process water through the system, revitalizing the CIP (carbon-in-pulp) circuit, carbon circuit and carbon kiln, reassembling the flocculant and reagent systems and leach agitators, and commissioning the refinery.
“All operational readiness milestones have been met for the process plant,” said Hayley Halsall-Whitney, vice-president, operations. “The facility is fully staffed and ready for this first phase of mill operations.”
The Connection Drift, the largest of the capital projects supporting restart of the Madsen mine and a cornerstone of West Red Lake Gold’s approach to efficient mine operations, is now 80% complete. To date 1,148 metres have been completed, of the 1,440-metre total length. The project remains on track for completion by the end of March 2025.
“The Connection Drift is a best-in-class haulage way,” said Mostert. “This large cross-section, moderately inclined, straight ramp with sufficient passing bays will optimize our trucking operations. I am extremely proud of the quality of work our teams have put into this key project.”
The Connection Drift is a 1.4-km haulage way connecting the small historic West portal, which, through extensive workings, provides access to most parts of the Madsen mine, and the East portal, a modern portal from which development only extends a modest distance into one resource area.
With the Connection Drift, West Red Lake Gold will be able to move all material on large haul trucks through the East portal, which is situated close to the crusher and the mill.
Underground development: The ability to develop access to mining areas efficiently and accurately is essential in an underground mine, in particular a mine where the deposit necessitates multiple working faces. For this reason, West Red Lake Gold, in the second half of 2024, focused on increasing the pace of underground development while maintaining strong emphasis on safety and quality.
From August 2024 to January 2025, the pace of new underground development increased notably, with average daily metreage rising 23% each month. In January, underground development averaged above 20 metres per day and the pace continues to increase.
The last outstanding construction permit for the Madsen mine camp was received from the Municipality of Red Lake on Jan. 31, 2025. Final installation work is now under way, which is primarily power, water, sewer and propane connections.
The company expects to start housing workers in the camp in the second half of March, pending receipt of an occupancy permit that is in progress. The camp is a 114-person facility. It offers individual rooms with en suite bathrooms for each worker, a kitchen and dining hall, and recreation space.
The mine dry facility is largely constructed. Once a final permitting requirement is met, the company expects to be able to complete the installation and have the facility in service for miners transitioning in and out of shifts by the end of February.
West Red Lake Gold is advancing and developing its flagship Madsen gold mine and the associated 47 km2 highly prospective land package in the Red Lake district of Ontario.