West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. report drill results from its 100% owned Madsen Mine located in the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.
The drill results featured in this news release were focused on the high-grade South Austin Zone, which currently contains an Indicated mineral resource of 474,600 ounces (“oz”) grading 8.7 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”), with an additional Inferred resource of 31,800 oz grading 8.7 g/t Au. The results successfully demonstrate the high-grade nature and continuity of the South Austin Zone and highlight the resource growth potential that exists within this area. The WRLG team believes that further exploration potential exists down-plunge which could potentially add to the unmined portion of South Austin (see Figure 2), which sits adjacent to existing underground infrastructure marking it as a high caliber target that could potentially be developed early during future mine restart and production. This area is a priority expansion target as underground drilling continues.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- MM23D-07-4141-006 Intersected 1m @ 296.83 g/t Au, from 53.0m to 54.0m, and 3m @ 42.35 g/t Au, from 31.0m to 34.0, Including 1m @ 37.10 g/t Au, from 31.0m to 32.0m, also including 1m @ 84.34 g/t Au, from 33.0m to 34.0m.
- MM23D-07-4141-017 Intersected 3.2m @ 47.44 g/t Au, from 40.6m to 43.8m.
- MM23D-07-4141-012 Intersected 7m @ 21.62 g/t Au, from 36.0m to 43.0m, Including 1m @ 118.35 g/t Au, from 37.0m to 38.0m.
- MM23D-07-4141-002 Intersected 8m @ 17.45 g/t Au, from 27.0m to 35.0m, Including 2m @ 55.87 g/t Au, from 30.8m to 32.8m, also including 0.6m @ 23.33 g/t Au, from 33.4m to 34.0m.
- MM23D-07-4141-015 Intersected 5.3m @ 16.17 g/t Au, from 99.2m to 104.5m, Including 2.5m @ 28.84 g/t Au, from 102.0m to 104.5m.
- MM23D-07-4141-020 Intersected 1m @ 56.14 g/t Au, from 19.0m to 20.0m.
- MM23D-07-4141-003 Intersected 1m @ 53.97 g/t Au, from 76.0m to 77.0m.
Shane Williams, President & CEO, stated, “Our team is very pleased with the fantastic results that continue to be produced from the underground drilling program at Madsen which only begantwo months ago. It is worth restating that the impressive results reported thus far from South Austin and North Austin represent growth to the existing Madsen resource inventory and underscore the high-grade expansion potential that still exists at the Madsen deposit. We fully intend to continue unlocking this value as drilling continues.”
Plan maps and section for the South Austin drilling outlined in this release are provided in Figures 1 through 3.
Since underground drilling commenced near the end of September 2023 the Company has completed 1,320m of Exploration drilling and 4,226m of Definition drilling. In total, 91 diamond drill holes for 5,546m have been completed so far in 2023 at the Madsen Mine. Fire and metallic screen assays have been returned for 85 out of 91 holes completed, with 6 holes pending assays and QAQC.
TABLE 1. Significant intercepts (>3 g/t Au) from drilling at South Austin Zone.
| Hole ID | Target | From (m) | To (m) | Thick (m)* | Au (g/t) |
| MM23D-07-4141-001 | South Austin | 91.4 | 92.8 | 1.4 | 3.59 |
| MM23D-07-4141-002 | South Austin | 27.0 | 35.0 | 8.0 | 17.45 |
| Incl. | 30.8 | 32.8 | 2.0 | 55.87 | |
| Also Incl. | 33.4 | 34.0 | 0.6 | 23.33 | |
| MM23D-07-4141-003 | South Austin | 32.6 | 38.0 | 5.4 | 8.43 |
| Incl. | 33.5 | 34.5 | 1.0 | 12.81 | |
| Also Incl. | South Austin | 35.1 | 36.0 | 0.9 | 18.56 |
| AND | South Austin | 43.0 | 44.0 | 1.0 | 11.24 |
| AND | South Austin | 76.0 | 77.0 | 1.0 | 53.97 |
| AND | South Austin | 82.0 | 83.0 | 1.0 | 5.40 |
| MM23D-07-4141-004 | South Austin | 22.0 | 23.0 | 1.0 | 15.39 |
| MM23D-07-4141-005 | South Austin | 20.8 | 23.0 | 2.2 | 10.92 |
| MM23D-07-4141-006 | South Austin | 31.0 | 34.0 | 3.0 | 42.35 |
| Incl. | 31.0 | 32.0 | 1.0 | 37.10 | |
| Also Incl. | 33.0 | 34.0 | 1.0 | 84.34 | |
| AND | South Austin | 38.2 | 42.0 | 3.8 | 10.76 |
| AND | South Austin | 53.0 | 54.0 | 1.0 | 296.83 |
| MM23D-07-4141-007 | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | ||||
| MM23D-07-4141-008 | No Assays > 3 g/t Au | ||||
| MM23D-07-4141-009 | South Austin | 18.5 | 19.3 | 0.8 | 19.75 |
| AND | South Austin | 26.0 | 29.8 | 3.8 | 5.78 |
| AND | South Austin | 49.0 | 51.0 | 2.0 | 10.61 |
| MM23D-07-4141-010 | South Austin | 44.5 | 48.2 | 3.7 | 11.30 |
| Incl. | 45.5 | 46.0 | 0.5 | 46.97 | |
| Also Incl. | 47.5 | 48.2 | 0.7 | 14.61 | |
| AND | South Austin | 51.0 | 52.0 | 1.0 | 5.95 |
| AND | South Austin | 74.5 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 3.32 |
| MM23D-07-4141-011 | South Austin | 75.0 | 75.6 | 0.6 | 6.84 |
| MM23D-07-4141-012 | South Austin | 36.0 | 43.0 | 7.0 | 21.62 |
| Incl. | 37.0 | 38.0 | 1.0 | 118.35 | |
| MM23D-07-4141-013 | South Austin | 31.0 | 33.5 | 2.5 | 7.83 |
| MM23D-07-4141-014 | South Austin | 40.7 | 44.4 | 3.7 | 7.69 |
| Incl. | 43.4 | 44.4 | 1.0 | 16.22 | |
| MM23D-07-4141-015 | South Austin | 37.1 | 39.1 | 2.0 | 4.02 |
| AND | South Austin | 99.2 | 104.5 | 5.3 | 16.17 |
| Incl. | 102.0 | 104.5 | 2.5 | 28.84 | |
| MM23D-07-4141-016 | South Austin | 48.0 | 49.0 | 1.0 | 6.39 |
| MM23D-07-4141-017 | South Austin | 40.6 | 43.8 | 3.2 | 47.44 |
| MM23D-07-4141-018 | South Austin | 56.1 | 57.3 | 1.2 | 8.62 |
| MM23D-07-4141-019 | South Austin | 19.0 | 20.0 | 1.0 | 56.14 |
| MM23D-07-4141-020 | South Austin | 47.0 | 49.0 | 2.0 | 10.04 |
TABLE 2: Drill collar summary for holes reported in this News Release.
| Hole ID | Target | Easting | Northing | Elev (m) | Length (m) | Azimuth | Dip |
| MM23D-07-4141-001 | South Austin | 435400 | 5646156 | 29 | 120 | 186 | -20 |
| MM23D-07-4141-002 | South Austin | 435400 | 5646156 | 28 | 96 | 176 | -5 |
| MM23D-07-4141-003 | South Austin | 435400 | 5646156 | 28 | 123 | 176 | -20 |
| MM23D-07-4141-004 | South Austin | 435401 | 5646156 | 29 | 60 | 161 | -5 |
| MM23D-07-4141-005 | South Austin | 435401 | 5646156 | 28 | 75 | 160 | -20 |
| MM23D-07-4141-006 | South Austin | 435401 | 5646156 | 27 | 90 | 161 | -35 |
| MM23D-07-4141-007 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646156 | 29 | 57 | 146 | -5 |
| MM23D-07-4141-008 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646156 | 28 | 90 | 146 | -20 |
| MM23D-07-4141-009 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646156 | 28 | 51 | 151 | -35 |
| MM23D-07-4141-010 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646156 | 28 | 75 | 151 | -50 |
| MM23D-07-4141-011 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646157 | 27 | 87 | 131 | -35 |
| MM23D-07-4141-012 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646157 | 27 | 63 | 130 | -50 |
| MM23D-07-4141-013 | South Austin | 435404 | 5646157 | 28 | 99 | 116 | -35 |
| MM23D-07-4141-014 | South Austin | 435403 | 5646157 | 27 | 66 | 115 | -50 |
| MM23D-07-4141-015 | South Austin | 435404 | 5646158 | 28 | 120 | 101 | -35 |
| MM23D-07-4141-016 | South Austin | 435404 | 5646160 | 29 | 90 | 86 | 0 |
| MM23D-07-4141-017 | South Austin | 435405 | 5646160 | 28 | 120 | 85 | -25 |
| MM23D-07-4141-018 | South Austin | 435404 | 5646160 | 27 | 102 | 86 | -46 |
| MM23D-07-4141-019 | South Austin | 435400 | 5646156 | 29 | 90 | 176 | 10 |
| MM23D-07-4141-020 | South Austin | 435400 | 5646156 | 29 | 102 | 190 | -4 |
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 in 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, and North Austin Zones. This will continue to be the strategy moving into 2024.
High resolution versions of all the figures contained in this press release can be found at the following web address: https://westredlakegold.com/december-5th-news-release-maps/
[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. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
[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. 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 (“VG”), 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 (“NI 43-101”) 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. 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. 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 updated report. A full copy of the SRK 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 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.
ON BEHALF OF WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD.
“Shane Williams”
Shane Williams
President & Chief Executive Officer
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Amandip Singh, VP Corporate Development
Tel: 416-203-9181
Email: [email protected] or visit the Company’s website at https://www.westredlakegold.com
