West Red Lake Gold Accelerates Definition Drill Program at North Austin

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 09, 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 the arrival of a second underground diamond drill at its 100% owned Madsen Mine located in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

In response to the recent drilling success at the newly defined North Austin zone, a second diamond drill has been added at Madsen to continue growing and de-risking this high-priority, near-mine resource area.

Based on positive results from recent underground drilling programs at Madsen, two near-mine expansion areas - North and South Austin - have been prioritized for immediate expansion and infill drilling (Figures 1 & 2). The two focus areas sit adjacent to existing underground development marking them both as high caliber targets that could potentially be developed early during future mine restart and production. It’s important to note that successful drilling in these areas is expected to add growth to the existing Madsen resource, bringing new ounces onto the books in areas not previously mined.

Shane Williams, President & CEO, stated, “The addition of a second underground drill at Madsen will expedite our efforts in de-risking the resource and building a runway of high-confidence mineable inventory that will be critical during restart of mining operations. The North and South Austin Zones have already demonstrated potential for grade and continuity and our team looks forward to continuing to advance these two high-priority areas simultaneously with the underground drilling program.”

Previously announced highlights on the North and South Austin drilling can be viewed at the following links:

Since underground drilling resumed in early January 2024 the Company has completed 3,671m of Expansion drilling and 2,916m of Definition drilling. In total, 65 diamond drill holes for 6,587m have been completed so far in 2024 at the Madsen Mine.

WRLG_Madsen_SouthAustin_Plan_wVeins

FIGURE 1. Deposit-scale plan map of Madsen Mine highlighting North and South Austin Zones.

FIGURE 2. Madsen Mine long section showing location of North and South Austin growth areas and recent drilling highlights. ^[1^]

^[1] Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled “Independent NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the PureGold Mine, Canada”, prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. and dated June 16, 2023. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca .

QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL

Drilling completed underground at the Madsen Mine consists of BQ-sized diamond drill core for definition drill programs and oriented NQ-sized diamond drill core for exploration focused drilling. All drill holes are systematically logged, photographed, and sampled by a trained geologist at the Madsen Mine core processing facility. Minimum allowable sample length is 0.5m. Maximum allowable sample length is 1.5m. Control samples (certified standards and uncertified blanks), along duplicates, are inserted at a target 5% insertion rate. Results are assessed for accuracy, precision, and contamination on an ongoing basis. The BQ-sized drill core is whole core sampled. The NQ-sized 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 Madsen Mine 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 (SGS Code GO-FAA50V10). Samples returning gold values > 100 g/t Au are reanalyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on a 50g sample (SGS Code GO_FAG50V). 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.

The Madsen Mine deposit presently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) Indicated resource of 1.65 million ounces (“Moz”) of gold grading 7.4 g/t Au and an Inferred resource of 0.37 Moz of gold grading 6.3 g/t Au. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.38 g/t Au and a gold price of US1,800/oz. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please refer to the technical report entitled “Independent NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the PureGold Mine, Canada”, prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. and dated June 16, 2023. The Madsen Resource Estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2021 and excludes depletion of mining activity during the period from January 1, 2022 to the mine closure on October 24, 2022 as it has been deemed immaterial and not relevant for the purpose of the updated report. A full copy of the SRK report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca .

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”.

MARKETING CAMPAIGN SERVICE AGREEMENT

The Company has entered into a service agreement with Native Ads, Inc. (“Native Ads”) dated March 28, 2024, pursuant to which Native Ads will provide a marketing campaign for a total retainer of up to US$150,000, with a term of up to twenty four months or until the retainer is depleted. Under the agreement, Native Ads will execute a comprehensive digital media advertising campaign for the Company, where approximately 75% of the campaign budget will be allocated to cost per click costs, media buying and content distribution, and search engine marketing. The remaining budget will be allocated for content creation, web development, advertising creative development, search engine optimization, campaign optimization, and reporting and data insights services. Native Ads is a full-service advertising agency based out of New York and Vancouver, BC. Native Ads and its principal Jon Malach are arms length to the Company and hold no interest, directly or indirectly, in the securities of the Company or any right to acquire such an interest. The engagement of Native Ads is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

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 km ² 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 km ² including three past producing gold mines - Rowan, Mount Jamie, and Red Summit.

Rowan & Madsen Projects Location Map

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; any untapped growth potential in the Madsen depositor; 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, 2022, 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:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6a726fb9-c246-4620-b76c-0ba22064057d

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/81ac82d1-f2a3-4d87-a127-5e4314639fbb

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/491d3b2e-d917-417c-ac35-9ffc2a005402

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