West Red Lake Gold (TSX.V)
Provided an operations update on restart readiness activities at its 100% owned Madsen Mine project in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.
The Connection Drift, the largest of the capital projects supporting restart of the Madsen Mine, is 50% complete and is on track for completion by the end of March 2025.
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West Red Lake Gold Mines | TSX.V : WRLG |
Stage | Exploration / Development |
Metals | Gold |
Market cap | C$178 m @ 56 cents |
Location | Ontario, Canada |
Website | www.westredlakegold.com |
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West Red Lake Gold Mines Madsen Mine Update
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West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (“West Red Lake Gold” or the “Company”) (TSXV: WRLG) is pleased to provide an operations update on restart readiness activities at its 100% owned Madsen Mine project in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.
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Shane Williams, President and CEO said,
“As we push towards our goal of restarting the Madsen Mine next year, the team continues to make great progress on achieving key operational readiness milestones.
“Access development for test mining has been underway since late summer, putting us on the edge of mining. The bulk samples generated through the test mining program will be stockpiled on surface and then batch processed.
“Meanwhile the Connection Drift, primary crusher, and camp projects are being completed on schedule while definition drilling and mine planning and optimization continue.
“The entire WRLG team has been collectively working towards a successful restart of the Madsen mine. We are now approaching the finish line on many of the fundamental pieces that support this goal, including final optimization on the pre-feasibility study, completing key capital projects, mining our first underground stopes, and starting up the mill.
“It is a very exciting time for WRLG as we make the transition from developer to producer.”
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Connection Drift 50% Complete
The Connection Drift, the largest of the capital projects supporting restart of the Madsen Mine, is 50% complete and is on track for completion by the end of March 2025.
The Connection Drift is a 1.2-km haulage way connecting the historic West Portal, which through extensive underground workings provides access to most parts of the Madsen mine including the Austin, South Austin, and McVeigh zones, and the East Portal, a modern portal from which development only extends a modest distance into the North Austin area.
The prior operator developed the East Portal and workings early in its construction effort but soon shifted to the less capital-intensive approach of using the historic West Portal.
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West Red Lake Gold found notable inefficiencies in using the West Portal for moving mined material, including:
- The portal is relatively small, limiting hauling to 30-tonne trucks.
- The haulage ways descending from the West Portal were developed over many years of historic operations; an array of steep sections and sharp corners make the route relatively inefficient for trucking.
- The route from the portal to the mill crosses two public roads and goes past the town of Madsen. Material must be dumped out of underground haul truck and reloaded into surface-insured trucks and only hauled during daylight hours (because of noise restrictions) to use this route.
- Much of the resource at Madsen sits spatially under the mill. Moving it west to bring it up through the West Portal and then driving it back east to the mill adds kilometres of trucking distance.
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The East Portal, by contrast, is a large portal with modern workings. It can accommodate 60-tonne trucks, the haulage route within the mine was designed with efficiency in mind, and the East Portal is beside the primary crusher, which is close to the mill.
The Connection Drift will allow West Red Lake Gold to move all mined material out through the East Portal, eliminating the inefficiencies of the West Portal (which will remain open for ventilation and emergency access).
West Red Lake Gold raised $10 million in Canadian Development Expense flow through funds to finance this major project. Work started in August 2024.
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