West Red Lake Gold's Bulk Sample Program & Underground Development Towards Production

• West Red Lake Gold is conducting a bulk sample program at its Madsen Mine, with 3,380 tonnes already stockpiled on surface from two stopes.
• The Connection Drift, a 1.4-km haulage way, is 80% complete and on track to be finished by the end of March 2025.
• Underground development has accelerated, increasing 23% per month from August 2024 to January 2025 to now average over 20 metres per day.
• The mill is scheduled to start up later this month to process the bulk sample, with each stope processed individually for reconciliation.
• Final installation work is underway on the 114-person mine camp and mine dry facilities.

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:WRLG) is a mineral exploration company focused on advancing its wholly-owned Madsen Gold Mine and surrounding 47 km2 land package in the highly prospective Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The Red Lake district has historically produced over 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones.

The company has achieved several key operational milestones in its restart readiness activities at the Madsen Mine. A bulk sample program is underway to demonstrate the effectiveness of West Red Lake Gold's approach of intensive definition drilling, detailed mine engineering, and selective mining methods. Underground development has accelerated and the mill is prepared to begin processing the bulk sample this month. Surface infrastructure, including a mine camp and mine dry, are nearing completion.

Bulk Sample Program Tests Mining Approach

The ongoing bulk sample program aims to extract a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of material from six stopes in the high-priority Austin, McVeigh, and South Austin resource areas. These areas have seen access development, definition drilling, and mine engineering over the past 16 months in preparation. Shane Williams, President and CEO, shared the company's restart readiness activities in a news release:

“With test mining underway, 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,”

“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."

To date, 3,380 tonnes of bulk sample material from two stopes are stockpiled on surface. Mining of the remaining stopes will continue over the coming weeks. The multiple ore sources allow West Red Lake Gold to test its geological modeling and mining techniques in different zones of the deposit.

Independent engineering firms Entech Inc. and Soutex Inc. have been engaged to audit the mining and processing components of the bulk sample program, respectively. Their involvement will provide third-party validation of the sampling, mining, and reconciliation processes.

"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."

Operational Updates

Connection Drift Nears Completion

The 1,440-metre Connection Drift is a critical piece of infrastructure to enable efficient haulage at the Madsen Mine. It will connect the West Portal, which accesses most of the mine's resources through an extensive network of existing workings, to the East Portal located near the mill.

Development of the drift has reached 1,148 metres, representing 80% completion. The Company expects to finish the remaining development 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 optimise our trucking operations. I am extremely proud of the quality of work our teams have put into this key project."

Mill Readies for Bulk Sample Processing

The Madsen mill is slated to restart later this month after a 28-month period of maintained dry shutdown. The facility has undergone substantial refurbishment in preparation, including the replacement of mill liners and discharge lines, recommissioning of the CIP, carbon, and refining circuits, and revival of the reagent systems and leach agitators.

"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."

Low-grade legacy material will be used to pack and bed the mills initially, followed by low-grade development muck from current mining. The bulk sample stopes will then be processed individually, allowing for detailed reconciliation of expected versus actual grades and ounces.

Development Rate Increases Underground

West Red Lake Gold has made a concerted effort in recent months to improve the pace and efficiency of underground development while maintaining high safety and quality standards. Increasing the number of available working faces is essential to providing optionality and consistent mill feed for the planned mining operation.

In January 2024, new underground development averaged just over 4 metres per day, increasing to 6.6 metres per day by mid-year. Development rates improved dramatically from August 2024 to January 2025, rising by an average of 23% each month. The Company exited January at over 20 metres per day and continues to trend positively.

Surface Infrastructure Nears Completion

West Red Lake Gold has largely completed construction of the key surface infrastructure needed to support the restart of the Madsen Mine. Final installation work on the mine dry and 114-person camp is proceeding well.

West Red Lake Gold has largely completed construction of the key surface infrastructure needed to support the restart of the Madsen Mine. Final installation work on the mine dry and 114-person camp is proceeding well.

The company received the final outstanding construction permit for the camp from the Municipality of Red Lake on January 31st. Crews are now connecting power, water, sewer and propane services. Management expects to receive an occupancy permit and begin housing workers in the camp in the second half of March.

The mine dry is also nearing completion, with one final permitting hurdle to clear before it enters service. The facility is expected to be ready for use by miners by the end of February.

Looking Ahead

With numerous components of its restart plan now well advanced, West Red Lake Gold is positioned to complete its bulk sample program and transition into production over the coming months at the Madsen Mine. The accelerating pace of underground development, imminent completion of the Connection Drift, and restart of the mill all represent key near-term milestones for the Company.

For investors, the progress at Madsen demonstrates West Red Lake Gold's ability to execute on its strategy of bringing a historic Red Lake gold mine back into production. The Company's approach centers around intensive definition drilling to define resources, detailed mine engineering, and the application of modern mining and processing techniques to extract value from the high-grade deposit. With 47 km² of prospective exploration ground and two other past-producing mines on its land package, West Red Lake Gold offers exposure to a highly productive Canadian gold district with significant growth potential.