West Red Lake Gold Reports Strong July Production as Madsen Mine Ramp-Up Progresses

• West Red Lake Gold produced 3,800 ounces of gold at Madsen Mine in July, generating US$12 million in revenue from 3,595 ounces sold at US$3,320 average price.
• The mill achieved 94% recovery rates while processing 500-800 tonnes per day, with mined material averaging 8.9 grams per tonne gold grade.
• Sill development material significantly exceeded grade expectations, with low-grade material averaging 9.56 g/t Au and high-grade material averaging 21.82 g/t Au.
• The company is implementing a three-stage shaft renovation plan to add 300-400 tonnes per day material movement capacity by year-end.
• A new Cemented Rock Fill project will enable underground waste storage in historic stopes, potentially accommodating over 172,000 tonnes of waste rock.

West Red Lake Gold & the Madsen Mine

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is a gold mining company focused on its flagship high-grade Madsen Gold Mine and associated 47 km² land package in Ontario's Red Lake district. The company also owns the Rowan Property, which hosts a small, high-grade deposit being advanced toward production. Operating in a district that has produced over 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones, West Red Lake Gold is executing a systematic ramp-up of the Madsen Mine while implementing infrastructure improvements to enhance long-term operational efficiency.

July Production Performance Exceeds Expectations

West Red Lake Gold delivered strong operational results in July 2025, demonstrating the effectiveness of its systematic approach to mine ramp-up at the Madsen facility. The company produced 3,800 ounces of gold during the month, with 3,595 ounces sold at an average price of US$3,320 per ounce, generating US$12 million in revenue.

President and CEO Shane Williams emphasized the positive trajectory of operations:

"July was a good month for Madsen and our mine operations team, and we continue to track to plan on our ramp up. Mine ramp-up is about adding equipment, developing access to high-priority mining areas, and increasing operational efficiency until the mine consistently produces the targeted daily tonnage at the targeted grade."

The mill operations demonstrated strong performance with 94% recovery rates while processing between 500-800 tonnes per day. The production profile reflected the company's strategic focus on sill development, which is essential for accessing stope mining areas. During July, the operations team completed sill development and mining across eight areas spanning the McVeigh, South Austin, and Austin zones.

Grade Performance & Resource Model Validation

A significant highlight of July operations was the exceptional grade performance in sill development areas. Mined material averaged 8.9 grams per tonne gold, substantially above planned levels. The material was blended with low-grade stockpiles to achieve an average mill feed grade of approximately 5 grams per tonne.

The company's approach to tight-spacing definition drilling, reducing drill hole spacing from 20 metres to 7 metres on average, proved effective in grade prediction accuracy. Chief Geologist Jill Christmann noted the success of this methodology:

"In July we saw the short-term resource model doing its job: stope grades reconciled closely to predicted model grades, and in fact exceeded planned grades in many cases."

Particularly notable was the performance of sill development during weeks 26 and 27, where material expected to be low-grade (1.5-3.5 g/t Au range) averaged 9.56 g/t Au across 1,274 tonnes. High-grade sill material averaged 21.82 g/t Au across 1,171 tonnes, significantly exceeding expectations.

Christmann elaborated on the implications:

"We also saw the benefit of a workflow that guides mining to the right rocks in the form of strong sill grades, in some cases exceptionally strong. And the value of grade control sampling to fine tune our model ahead of stope mining was clear: the grade surprises were in the sills, where that additional layer of data is missing, while stopes reconciled to the model."

Strategic Infrastructure Development

West Red Lake Gold is implementing two major infrastructure projects designed to enhance operational capacity and efficiency for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. These initiatives address critical aspects of underground mining operations: material movement capacity and waste management optimization.

Shaft Renovation Project

The company has developed a comprehensive three-stage shaft renovation plan, with the first stage targeted for completion by year-end. This phase involves significant equipment procurement and infrastructure preparation to restore the Madsen Shaft's material hoisting capabilities.

Key components of the stage one implementation include the purchase of new hoist rope, a 5-tonne skip, and scrolls, all expected to arrive in the coming months. Additionally, the company is preparing the loading pocket on the 11 level at 550 metres depth. This work builds on previous rehabilitation efforts completed in 2024 and the first half of 2025, when the hoist mechanism and shaft were restored to enable personnel movement for inspection and repair work.

Upon completion of the first phase, the shaft will provide approximately 300-400 tonnes per day of additional material movement capacity to surface, supplementing current transportation systems.

Cemented Rock Fill Implementation

The second major infrastructure initiative involves implementing a Cemented Rock Fill (CRF) system to optimize waste rock management. This project addresses a fundamental challenge in underground mining operations: minimizing the volume of waste material that must be transported to surface.

West Red Lake Gold has contracted a CRF batch plant and operator, who mobilized to the site in July. The company expects to begin backfilling operations into historic voids during August. The strategy leverages existing infrastructure, utilizing previously mined stopes as waste repositories.

The scope of available storage is substantial. Historic stopes near current mining areas on the 9 level in Austin and South Austin offer capacity for over 70,000 tonnes of waste rock. Additional voids in the upper Austin area provide potential storage for 102,000 tonnes of waste rock, bringing total identified capacity to over 172,000 tonnes.

Operational Context & Market Position

The Madsen Mine operates within the highly productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, a region that has yielded over 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones and hosts some of the world's richest gold deposits. This geological context provides West Red Lake Gold with access to a mineralized system characterized by high-grade, pervasive gold mineralization, though not always continuous due to alteration and deformation.

The company's systematic approach to resource definition and extraction reflects industry best practices for complex mineralized systems. The tight definition drilling program and in-house resource modeling enable accurate stope design and grade prediction, as demonstrated by the close reconciliation between expected and actual grades in both the bulk sample program and recent stope mining activities.

Williams contextualized the strategic approach: "Mine ramp ups are always balancing two competing needs: producing planned ounces in a given month and developing to ensure the ability to continue producing planned ounces in the months ahead. Positive surprises, like the high-grade sills we encountered several times in July, make it easier to achieve that balance. July therefore helped set us up for success in the coming months."

Infrastructure Optimization Strategy

The concurrent implementation of shaft renovation and CRF projects represents a comprehensive approach to operational optimization. Williams explained the strategic rationale: "The shaft utilization and CRF projects are ways we are increasing efficiencies for the longer term at Madsen. Hoisting ore and waste rock up via a shaft and reducing the need to truck waste material out of the mine are ways to alleviate ventilation and equipment pressures, thus creating the kind of optionality that helps underground mines thrive."

These infrastructure improvements address multiple operational challenges simultaneously. The restored shaft capacity will provide redundancy and increased throughput for material movement, while the CRF system will reduce haulage requirements and associated ventilation demands. The combination is expected to enhance operational flexibility and reduce bottlenecks that commonly constrain underground mining operations.

For Investors

West Red Lake Gold's July operational performance demonstrates several key factors relevant to investor evaluation. The company achieved planned production levels while exceeding grade expectations, particularly in development areas. The mill performance metrics indicate effective processing capabilities with strong recovery rates.

The infrastructure development projects represent strategic investments in long-term operational capacity and efficiency. The shaft renovation project will provide additional material movement capacity, while the CRF system addresses waste management optimization. Both initiatives are designed to support sustained production increases and operational cost management.

The company's systematic approach to resource definition through tight-spacing drilling and in-house modeling has demonstrated effectiveness in grade prediction and stope reconciliation. This technical capability provides a foundation for reliable production planning and resource optimization.

For investors evaluating West Red Lake Gold, the July operational update provides evidence of execution capability in mine ramp-up activities, strategic infrastructure development, and technical resource management. The combination of current production performance and planned infrastructure enhancements positions the company for continued operational development in the Red Lake district's established gold mining environment.