VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (“West Red Lake Gold” or “WRLG” or the “Company”) (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to announce its 2024 strategy for regional exploration activities across its 100% owned Madsen and Rowan Properties, both located in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Regional mapping and geochemical sampling at Madsen with a focus on the Confederation Assemblage of rocks, which has seen very little exploration work since 2014 (Figures 1 & 2).
- Expected to commence in May 2024.
- Up to 15,000m of surface drilling to be completed at the Rowan Mine deposit with focus on growth and expansion on the existing high-grade mineral resource (Figure 4) - as previously announced on April 26, 2024.
- This drill program is fully funded up to C$4.5M and is expected to commence in early June.
- Regional mapping and geochemical sampling across Rowan property to start generating new targets for potential future drill testing.
- Expected to commence in June 2024.
Will Robinson, Vice President of Exploration, stated, “Our team is very excited to get back out into the field in 2024 at our Madsen and Rowan properties. The underground drills at Madsen will continue de-risking the resource while taking full advantage of near-mine expansion opportunities, while our field crews will be focused on reconnaissance-level work within the greater Madsen land package to continue generating and advancing new targets for the exploration pipeline. Of particular interest is the exploration potential that could exist within the Confederation package of rocks which remains mostly unexplored but represents approximately 50% of the land package at Madsen. We have enough geologic evidence from previous work to demonstrate the prospectivity within the Confederation rocks and we aim to gain a better understanding of the mineralizing controls and economic potential over this part of the Madsen land package. With drills soon to be turning at both of our Red Lake properties we look forward to delivering a steady stream of positive results throughout 2024.”
FIGURE 1. Plan map showing density of surface sampling data collected during 2014-2022 across the Madsen property. Note the paucity of data within the Confederation Assemblage of rocks leaving this area mostly unexplored.
DISCUSSION
Most historic exploration work and drilling across the Madsen property, and within the greater Red Lake district, has been almost exclusively focused on the Balmer Assemblage of rocks. The Confederation rock package was mostly ignored and considered non-prospective for hosting significant gold mineralization. The discovery of the LP Fault and Hinge Zones at Dixie Lake in 2016 (24km SSE of Madsen) forced the geologic community to re-evaluate this narrative, and the WRLG exploration team is taking full advantage of the exploration potential that still exists within the Confederation rocks at Madsen – which cover approximately 50% of the 47 square kilometer (“sq. km.”) land package and remain mostly unexplored.
A full-scale regional program over the Confederation rocks has been planned for the 2024 field season which will include detailed geologic mapping and geochemical sampling to begin unlocking the full exploration potential of the entire Madsen property (Figure 2). Mapping and sampling within the Confederation will be focused on three main areas:
1) North Shore
- Poorly mapped area in highly favorable geologic setting between Russet Lake ultramafic and Balmer-Confederation unconformity.
- South of this zone, multiple mineralized shears crosscut stratigraphy (eg. Austin Zones, Starratt, Wedge, Fork, etc.).
- Focus will be on exploration for additional similar shear zones.
2) Confederation North
- This area remains mostly untested.
- Hosts some known mineral occurrences such as the high-grade #1 Vein, which was the original area being mined at Madsen before discovery of the surface expression of the Austin Zone.
- Objective will be to search for manifestation of known shear zones in the Balmer (eg. Starratt, Madsen, Derlak, etc.) projected into favorable contacts and geologic settings within the Confederation.
3) Confederation South
- Hosts some known occurrences such as historic Faulkenham shaft.
- Focus will be on mafic-felsic contact areas.
This strategy is representative of WRLG’s systematic and disciplined approach to exploration and target generation.
Figure 2. Plan map showing the proposed layout of soil sampling and reconnaissance grids at Madsen. The North Shore grid area is denoted by green sample sites. The Confederation North grid area is denoted by red sample sites. The Confederation South grid area is denoted by purple sample sites.
At the Rowan property, there has been very little regional exploration work completed since the 1980’s and early 1990’s when Goldquest Exploration, Inc. (which eventually amalgamated with Goldcorp, Inc.) conducted a number of regional exploration campaigns that included mapping, sampling, dozer stripping and drilling. Since that time, most of the work completed on the property has consisted of various drill programs at the Rowan Mine, Mount Jamie Mine, Red Summit Mine and along the NT Zone.
WRLG completed a preliminary orientation till sampling survey at Rowan in 2023 that consisted of 334 till samples collected on 50m spaced north-south lines, and 100m spaced east-west lines (Figure 3). Samples were collected using “Dutch” style hand augers with a maximum 2m sampling depth possible. OREAS 46 certified reference material (CRM) and duplicate field samples were inserted into the sequence at a 5% rate for each QA/QC sample type in the field. Post-field collection, samples were transported to ALS Vancouver for preparation and analysis. All samples were dried to 60°C to reduce loss of volatile mercury and arsenic, sieved to -180 +63 micron (µm) and -63 µm fraction data subsets before undergoing AR_ICP-MS digestion and analysis.
Review of assay data shows both datasets returned high quality, usable data, with the -63 µm dataset returning a preferential return in quality based on cumulative frequency probability plots and Tukey plotting of gold and pathfinders in parts per million (ppm) values. Exploratory Data Analysis via PCA was conducted on both data subsets and the components display both geochemical associations that reflect local geology and also zones of exploration potential. Glacial drift is proposed to be in the magnitude of 100m to 300m towards south by southwest across the Property based on the geological associations shown in the PCA compared to mapped lithologies. Based on the positive results of the initial 2023 soil sampling survey, the grid will be expanded in 2024 to cover more prospective areas across the Rowan property.
For more information on the exploration history at the Rowan Property please refer to the technical report entitled “Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Rowan Property, Ontario, Canada” dated April 26, 2024 prepared for WRLG by Sims Resources, LLC.
FIGURE 3. Thematic map showing Au-in-till results from 2023 orientation till sampling program at Rowan.
FIGURE 4. Rowan Deposit longitudinal section showing high-priority expansion target areas for 2024 drill program[1]. Drill intercepts shown in this figure have been composited to 2m intervals.
QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL
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:
Freddie Leigh
Tel: (604) 609-6132
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.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Forward-looking information is based on current expectations of management; however, it is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release and include without limitation, statements relating to the potential of the Madsen Mine and Rowan; any untapped growth potential in the Madsen deposit or Rowan deposit; the Company’s intention to establish additional drilling platforms; and the Company’s future objectives and plans. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Forward‐looking information involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, market volatility; the state of the financial markets for the Company’s securities; fluctuations in commodity prices and changes in the Company’s business plans. Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will continue with its stated business objectives and its ability to raise additional capital to proceed. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Additional information about risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company’s management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended November 30, 2023, and the Company’s annual information form for the year ended November 30, 2023, copies of which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.
For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company’s continuous disclosure filings that are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
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https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d34e53d0-c8d9-4ab9-97e0-d7f32f394375
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1 Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.8 g/t Au and using a gold price of US$1,800/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled “Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Rowan Property, Ontario, Canada” dated April 26, 2024 prepared for WRLG by Sims Resources, LLC.
