West Red Lake Gold's Madsen Mine Key Progresses Towards Restart in 2025

• West Red Lake Gold continues to advance its 100% owned Madsen Mine project towards a planned restart in 2025 and plans to add high-grade underground satellite at Fork deposit within the Madsen property.
• The 1.2 km Connection Drift linking the West and East portals is now 50% complete and will enable more efficient mining.
• The primary crusher has been commissioned and a 114-person camp is being installed to support operations.
• The Fork deposit, 250m from Madsen, has been reinterpreted as a potential high-grade satellite deposit and will be a priority drill target in 2025.
• Madsen hosts an Indicated resource of 1.65 Moz at 7.4 g/t Au and an Inferred resource of 0.37 Moz at 6.3 g/t Au (3.38 g/t Au cut-off).

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: WRLG) is a Toronto-based mineral exploration company focused on advancing its 100% owned Madsen Gold Mine and the associated 47 sq.km. land package in the prolific Red Lake gold district of Ontario, Canada. The Red Lake district has produced over 30 million ounces of high-grade gold. The company also owns the nearby Rowan property covering 31 sq.km. which hosts three past producing gold mines.

Madsen Mine Progress Update

West Red Lake Gold provided an update on December 4th regarding restart readiness activities at the Madsen Mine. The key Connection Drift underground haulage way linking the historic West Portal to the modern East Portal is now 50% complete at 604.8m of the total 1.2 km length. This drift will allow ore to be efficiently trucked out of the larger East Portal directly to the primary crusher, avoiding inefficiencies with the old West Portal route.

• The Connection Drift is on track for completion by the end of March 2025.
• The new primary crusher was recently delivered to site and has now been commissioned. Having a reliable crusher in place is another key piece of the infrastructure required for an efficient restart.
• To support the future workforce, a 114-person camp facility from Horizon North was delivered in November and is currently being installed. The camp will provide individual rooms and bathrooms for each worker along with a kitchen, dining and recreation areas.
• Definition drilling and mine planning optimization work is ongoing as West Red Lake Gold pushes towards its goal of restarting operations at Madsen in 2025. Test mining of bulk samples is expected to begin soon.

Fork Deposit Reinterpreted as High-Grade Satellite Target

West Red Lake Gold announced results of its reinterpretation of the Fork deposit, located just 250m southwest of existing underground development at Madsen. Fork currently hosts an Indicated resource of 20,900 oz grading 5.3 g/t Au plus an Inferred resource of 49,500 oz grading 5.2 g/t Au.

The company has identified a shallow, high-grade, low-plunging zone of gold mineralization at Fork, highlighting the potential for it to become a satellite deposit providing high-grade feed to the Madsen mill. The zone trends north-south and has been defined over an area of 400m by 250m, remaining open for expansion to the south. It is conservatively estimated to have an average thickness of 2m based on previous drill intercepts. CEO Shane Williams states:

"What was once considered a somewhat broad, intermediate-grade portion of the satellite resource inventory at Madsen, Fork has now been re-envisioned as a high-grade near-mine resource expansion target that will be a top priority for the exploration team in 2025."  

Historic drilling at Fork has returned several high-grade intercepts, including:

• 13.05m @ 13.97 g/t Au including 3.63m @ 30.79 g/t Au and 1.97m @ 32.55 g/t Au in hole RUM-08-49
• 9.3m @ 8.14 g/t Au including 0.7m @ 85.70 g/t Au and 0.6m @ 21.3 g/t Au in hole PDM04-318
• 1.3m @ 50.48 g/t Au including 0.2m @ 169.09 g/t Au and 0.4m @ 53.27 g/t Au in hole RUM-08-68
• 3.5m @ 17.18 g/t Au including 1.6m @ 33.80 g/t Au in hole PG14-011

The shallow depth of the Fork target will allow for efficient infill and expansion drilling from surface with holes averaging just 150-250m in depth. Fork will be a top priority for West Red Lake Gold's exploration drilling in 2025. Williams added:

"The shallow nature of this target will allow for rapid advancement through surface definition drilling and, with its proximity to existing underground development, it's not difficult to see a path forward for Fork making its way into the production pipeline at Madsen."

Madsen Mine Resources & Exploration Potential

The Madsen Mine presently hosts an NI 43-101 Indicated resource of 1.65 million ounces grading 7.4 g/t Au plus an Inferred resource of 0.37 million ounces grading 6.3 g/t Au, at a 3.38 g/t Au cut-off grade. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The Fork deposit represents just one of many attractive resource expansion targets within the company's wider 47 km^2^ Madsen property. Systematically evaluating and advancing these near-mine opportunities is a key part of West Red Lake Gold's hub-and-spoke model for future growth in the district.

Conclusion

West Red Lake Gold continues to methodically advance its flagship Madsen Mine project towards a planned production restart in 2025. With the Connection Drift 50% complete, the primary crusher commissioned, and camp facilities being installed, the key infrastructure pieces are falling into place. The reinterpretation of the Fork deposit as a potential high-grade satellite operation represents an exciting near-term growth opportunity for the company. As drilling resumes in 2025, Fork will be a top priority target that could quickly transition into the production pipeline given its proximity to existing development.

For investors, West Red Lake Gold offers exposure to a near-term path to production in an established high-grade gold mining district. The Madsen Mine already hosts a significant high-grade resource and the wider property has substantial exploration upside. With a proven management team guiding the restart plan and evaluating growth opportunities, West Red Lake Gold is well positioned to realize value from its strategic Red Lake assets in the coming years.