VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (“West Red Lake Gold” or “WRLG” or the “Company”) (TSXV:WRLG) (OTC: WRLGF) is pleased to report initial drill results from its previously announced Phase 1 exploration program from its 100% owned Rowan Property located in the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern, Ontario, Canada (see news release of April 19, 2023). The Company has received assay results from 10 of the 16 holes completed so far.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 90% of holes for which assays have been received show intervals grading > 5 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) -- highlighted intervals outlined in Table 1.
- The high-grade mineralized vein zones encountered at the Rowan Mine are in-line with expectations on gold grade, confirm the geologic model, and help to bolster the existing high-grade (9.2 g/t Au) 827,462 ounce Inferred Mineral Resource at the Rowan Mine. Sections for the Rowan Mine drilling outlined in this release are provided in Figures 3 through 6.
- Mineralized zones encountered at Red Summit NE have confirmed the Company’s thesis on the geologic model and potential controls on mineralization in this area.
- Hole RLG-23-134 Intersected 8.0 meters (m) @ 10.34 g/t Au, from 71m to 79m, Including, 0.5m @ 107.99 g/t Au, from 71.7m to 72.2m; 1m @ 9.68 g/t Au, from 76m to 77m; and 1.3m @ 8.25 g/t Au, from 77.7m to 79m
- Hole RLG-23-131 Intersected 1.1m @ 68.46 g/t Au, from 88m to 89.1m
- Hole RLG-23-132 Intersected 5.5m @ 13.21 g/t Au, from 67.5m to 73m, Including, 0.5m @ 137.22 g/t Au, from 70.5m to 71m and, 1.81m @ 29.04 g/t Au, from 166.19m to 168m Including, 0.5m @ 104.53 g/t Au, from 166.19m to 166.69m
- Hole RLG-23-139 Intersected 1.1m @ 48.04 g/t Au, from 21.4m to 22.5m
A total of 14 diamond drill holes totaling 2,314m have been completed so far in 2023 at the Rowan Mine area and 780m in 2 drill holes testing targets in the Red Summit NE area. Fire and metallic screen assays have been returned for 10 out of 16 holes completed during Phase 1 drilling at the Rowan Mine and Red Summit NE target areas, with 6 holes still pending assays and QAQC from the Rowan Mine area.
Tom Meredith, CEO, stated, "This impressive first round of assays from the Phase 1 drilling program at the Rowan Property confirmed and expectations based on the numerous accounts of mineralization observed in drill core by our geologic team. The high-grade nature of gold mineralization at the Rowan Mine continues to impress and will undoubtedly make for an exciting drilling program as we continue to advance this high priority asset in 2023. We look forward to continuing our efforts at Rowan while delivering a steady stream of high-grade drill results to the market for months to come. While Rowan is going to remain the focus of near term drilling our team is seeing a lot of potential at the mostly untested Red Summit target area, and we look forward to returning to this area for additional drilling later in the season.”
TABLE 1. Significant intercepts (>5 gpt Au) from Phase 1 drilling at Rowan Property.
| Hole ID | Target | From (m) | To (m) | Thick (m) | Au (g/t) |
| RLG-23-128 | Red Summit NE | Gold Assays up to 2.28 g/t Au | |||
| RLG-23-129 | Red Summit NE | 232.5 | 233 | 0.5 | 6.07 |
| RLG-23-130 | Rowan Mine | 70.4 | 71 | 0.6 | 5.14 |
| RLG-23-131 | Rowan Mine | 49 | 50 | 1 | 13.90 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | 88 | 89.1 | 1.1 | 68.46 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | 137 | 139 | 2 | 8.84 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 138 | 139 | 1 | 11.93 |
| RLG-23-132 | Rowan Mine | 67.5 | 73 | 5.5 | 13.21 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 70.5 | 71 | 0.5 | 137.22 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | 166.19 | 168 | 1.81 | 29.04 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 166.19 | 166.69 | 0.5 | 104.53 |
| RLG-23-134 | Rowan Mine | 71 | 79 | 8.0 | 10.34 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 71.7 | 72.2 | 0.5 | 107.99 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 76 | 77 | 1 | 9.68 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 77.7 | 79 | 1.3 | 8.25 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | 82 | 83.45 | 1.45 | 9.63 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 83 | 83.45 | 0.45 | 27.72 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | 226.32 | 227.75 | 1.43 | 10.11 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 226.32 | 226.97 | 0.65 | 17.47 |
| RLG-23-135 | Rowan Mine | 43 | 45 | 2 | 7.98 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 43.5 | 44 | 0.5 | 16.43 |
| RLG-23-138 | Rowan Mine | 73.35 | 74 | 0.65 | 7.70 |
| RLG-23-139 | Rowan Mine | 21.4 | 22.5 | 1.1 | 48.04 |
| RLG-23-140 | Rowan Mine | 63.5 | 65 | 1.5 | 9.32 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | 63.5 | 64 | 0.5 | 20.18 |
*The “From-To” intervals in Table 1 are denoting overall downhole length of the intercept. True thickness has not been calculated for these intercepts but is expected to be ≥ 70% of downhole thickness based on intercept angles observed in the drill core. Composite intervals do not cross sample boundaries < 0.1 g/t Au.
An additional 4,000m of diamond drilling planned for the Phase 1 program is currently ongoing and expected to be completed on target by June 30, 2023. The focus of this drilling will be on infill and expansion within high-grade mineralized zones at the Rowan Mine resource area. It is the Company’s belief that potential synergies could exist between high-grade resources at the Rowan Mine area and Madsen. Early indications suggest that the gold mineralization at Rowan could be mostly amenable to gravity separation, though additional metallurgical test work will be required to determine whether that is the case.
Upon completion of Phase 1, the Company will lead directly into its Phase 2 program, which will include an additional 10,000m of drilling to further build on Phase 1 exploration work, as well as test newly developed targets over the remaining and highly prospective 3,100 hectare (“ha”) Rowan Property.
FIGURE 1. Property map showing location of completed Phase 1 drill collars.
TABLE 2: Drill collar summary for the 2023 Phase 1 Program.
| Hole ID | Target | Easting | Northing | Elev (m) | Length (m) | Azimuth | Dip |
| RLG-23-128 | Red Summit NE | 425176 | 5657675 | 383 | 408 | 200 | -45 |
| RLG-23-129 | Red Summit NE | 425175 | 5657676 | 383 | 372 | 230 | -45 |
| RLG-23-130 | Rowan Mine | 421949 | 5657825 | 367 | 110 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-131 | Rowan Mine | 421990 | 5657834 | 367 | 204 | 0 | -60 |
| RLG-23-132 | Rowan Mine | 421992 | 5657878 | 367 | 215 | 0 | -60 |
| RLG-23-133 | Rowan Mine | 421994 | 5657920 | 367 | 120 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-134 | Rowan Mine | 422046 | 5657841 | 367 | 270 | 0 | -60 |
| RLG-23-135 | Rowan Mine | 422043 | 5657889 | 367 | 171 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-136 | Rowan Mine | 421945 | 5657885 | 367 | 171 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-137 | Rowan Mine | 421945 | 5657938 | 367 | 120 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-138 | Rowan Mine | 421895 | 5657819 | 367 | 180 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-139 | Rowan Mine | 421891 | 5657854 | 368 | 120 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-140 | Rowan Mine | 421891 | 5657882 | 368 | 102 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-141 | Rowan Mine | 421772 | 5657793 | 368 | 189 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-142 | Rowan Mine | 421770 | 5657851 | 368 | 192 | 0 | -50 |
| RLG-23-143 | Rowan Mine | 421711 | 5657775 | 368 | 150 | 0 | -50 |
FIGURE 2. Rowan drilling completed to date. Traces for holes with assays returned highlighted in red. Traces for holes with assays still pending shown in black.
DISCUSSION
The Rowan Mine target consists of six sub-parallel, near-vertical, east-west trending veins that are currently defined over a strike length of approximately 1.1 kilometre (“km”) – mineralization remains open along strike and at depth. The orientation of the veins at the Rowan Mine tend to follow the direction of D2 deformation, which is oriented in an east-west direction over this part of the property. Individual mineralized vein zones usually average 1.0 to 1.5m in thickness, with an overall thickness of the Rowan vein corridor at around 115m. Gold mineralization is typically localized within quartz-carbonate veins hosted within and along the ‘footwall’ margin of a porphyritic felsic intrusive, with increased grades often associated with the presence of visible gold and base metal sulphides (e.g. galena, sphalerite). High-grade dilation zones or ‘ore chutes’ along the Rowan vein trend have been recognized as important controls for localizing thicker and higher-grade zones of gold mineralization. The position and geometry of these dilation zones is well understood at Rowan.
The Phase 1 drilling completed at the Rowan Mine in 2023 has been focused on validating historical data across the Inferred Resource, and also infilling apparent gaps in the analytical data set which was a product of very selective sampling techniques implemented during previous drilling campaigns. Assay results received from the 2023 Phase 1 drilling program continue to confirm our thesis that quartz veining and gold mineralization continue at depth and along strike, with grades consistent with those outlined in the current Inferred Mineral Resource which remains open in all directions. Drilling at the Rowan Mine will continue with an emphasis on infill and expansion of the existing high-grade mineral resource.
The Red Summit NE target is located approximately 250m northeast of the past producing Red Summit Mine within a flexure of a major shear zone – the Pipestone Bay Deformation Zone. At Red Summit, the mineralization is somewhat similar to Rowan with gold mineralization localized within quartz-carbonate veins hosted along the margin of a porphyritic felsic intrusive. The contact between the felsic intrusive and surrounding mafic volcanic rocks provides a favorable rheologic setting for dilation and emplacement of quartz veining and gold mineralization. The intrusive at Red Summit NE is approximately three times the size of the intrusive adjacent to the historic Red Summit mine, which would suggest the potential for a much larger target at Red Summit NE. Two holes were completed at Red Summit NE during the Phase 1 program which confirmed the geologic thesis – where a large felsic intrusive body was intercepted with tenor of gold mineralization increasing near the contact between the intrusive and surrounding metavolcanic rocks. The results of this initial work warrant additional drilling in this area.
FIGURE 3. Rowan Mine drill section for Hole RLG-23-130. *Hole was a hard stop to avoid potential breakthrough into historic mine workings.
FIGURE 4. Rowan Mine drill section for Holes RLG-23-131 and RLG-23-132.
FIGURE 5. Rowan Mine drill section for Holes RLG-23-134 and RLG-23-135.
FIGURE 6. Rowan Mine drill section for Holes RLG-23-138, RLG-23-139 and RLG-23-140.
QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL
Drilling completed at the Rowan Property consists of oriented NQ-sized diamond drill core. All drill holes are systematically logged, photographed, and sampled by a trained geologist at WRLG’s Mt. Jamie core processing facility. Minimum allowable sample length is 0.5m. Maximum allowable sample length is 1.5m. Standard reference materials and blanks are inserted at a targeted 5% insertion rate. The 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 WRLG 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. Samples returning gold values > 5 g/t Au are reanalyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on a 50g sample. 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.
West Red Lake Gold’s Rowan Property presently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) Inferred Mineral Resource of 2,790,700 t at an average grade of 9.2 g/t Au containing 827,462 ounces of gold with a cut-off grade of 3.8 g/t Au (NI 43-101 Technical Report authored by John Kita, P.Eng., dated December 13, 2022 and filed December 30, 2022 on sedar.com). The Inferred Mineral Resource is located in the area of the historic underground Rowan Mine site and situated within a 1.8 km strike length portion of the regional scale Pipestone Bay St Paul Deformation Zone.
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 dedicated to creating value for its shareholders by discovering new gold mines in the highly productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada. This district has yielded 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones and hosts some of the world's richest gold deposits. On May 18, 2023 the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Madsen Gold Mine and its associated 47 Km2 highly prospective land package. WRLG also holds an expansive property position spanning 3,100 ha in theRed Lake district known as the Rowan Property, comprised of three past-producing gold mines - Rowan, Mount Jamie, and Red Summit - that are wholly owned by the Company. The Rowan Property covers a 12-km strike length along the Pipestone Bay St. Paul Deformation Zone, and WRLG plans to continue exploring this property along strike and to depth aggressively in 2023.
ON BEHALF OF WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD.
“Tom Meredith”
Tom Meredith
Chief Executive Officer
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Amandip Singh, VP Corporate Development
Tel: 416-203-9181
Email: investors@westredlakegold.com or visit the Company’s website at https://www.westredlakegold.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements". When used in this document, the words "anticipated", "expect", "estimated", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. These statements are based on current expectations of management, however, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward- looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof, except as required by securities laws.
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