VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. ("West Red Lake Gold" or "WRLG" or the "Company") (TSXV:WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to report additional drill results from its Phase 1 exploration program on its 100% owned Rowan Property located in the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern, Ontario, Canada. Results from Hole RLG-23-149B, most notably 50.52 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au") over 4.0 metres ("m"), was one of the best intercepts ever drilled on the Rowan Property. Based on the success of the current exploration campaign, the 2023 drill program has been expanded from 17,000m to 25,000m.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Hole RLG-23-149B Intersected 4.0m @ 50.52 g/t Au, from 299m to 303m, Including 0.5m @ 371.08 g/t Au, from 302m to 302.5m.
- Hole RLG-23-150 Intersected 4.2m @ 15.40 g/t Au, from 384m to 388.2m, Including 1.0m @ 63.76 g/t Au, from 386.1m to 387.1m.
- Hole RLG-23-152 Intersected 4.2m @ 10.41 g/t Au, from 344.95m to 349.15m, Including 0.5m @ 78.97 g/t Au, from 348.15m to 348.65m.
- Drilling at the Rowan Mine target continues to deliver intercepts with exceptional gold grades over significant widths that demonstrate the potential for being amenable to traditional underground mining methods.
- Baseline environmental and archaeological studies initiated to begin progressing Rowan Mine Target to Advanced Exploration Permit status.
Shane Williams, President & CEO, stated, "The Rowan Mine target continues to deliver spectacular results with every hole drilled. Our team is very encouraged not only by the exceptional grades we are seeing come out of Rowan, but also the overall thickness in a few of the intercepts which suggests very real potential for a future underground mining scenario. Based on the positive results we have seen so far in 2023, we have decided to expand the drilling program from 17,000m to 25,000m - further demonstrating our commitment to exploration and an aggressive growth strategy in the Red Lake Mining District which includes not only Madsen, but all of our high-priority regional targets. This strategy will allow us to maximize value across our portfolio of Red Lake Assets and take full advantage of the future optionality that could be provided by a hub-and-spoke mining operation."
The high-grade mineralized vein zones encountered at the Rowan Mine target area (the "Rowan Mine Target") continue to exceed expectations, confirm the geologic model, and further improve 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 1 through 6. High resolution versions of all the figures contained in this press release can be found at the following web address: https://westredlakegold.com/august-1st-news-release-maps/.
A total of 34 diamond drill holes for 9,183m have been completed so far in 2023 at the Rowan Mine target area. Fire and metallic screen assays have been returned for 21 out of 31 holes completed, with 3 holes having partial assay results and 8 holes pending assays and QAQC.
TABLE 1. Significant intercepts (>4 g/t Au) from drilling at Rowan Mine Target.
| Hole ID | Target | Zone | From (m) | To (m) | Thick (m)* | Au (g/t) |
| RLG-23-148 | Rowan Mine | V102 | 209.00 | 211.90 | 2.90 | 4.06 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V102 | 211.40 | 211.90 | 0.50 | 12.64 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 | 222.00 | 222.50 | 0.50 | 5.04 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 | 245.00 | 246.50 | 1.50 | 5.09 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V102 | 246.00 | 246.50 | 0.50 | 14.62 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V101 (hw)* | 300.65 | 301.15 | 0.50 | 7.40 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V101 | 313.20 | 313.70 | 0.50 | 8.06 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V100 | 368.00 | 369.00 | 1.00 | 7.34 |
| RLG-23-149B | Rowan Mine | V103 | 207.00 | 209.10 | 2.10 | 5.71 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V103 | 208.50 | 209.10 | 0.60 | 11.12 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 | 219.00 | 220.00 | 1.00 | 4.84 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 | 243.00 | 244.00 | 1.00 | 6.98 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V102 | 243.00 | 243.50 | 0.50 | 13.78 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 (fw)* | 284.00 | 285.00 | 1.00 | 5.42 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V101 | 299.00 | 303.00 | 4.00 | 50.52 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V101 | 299.00 | 300.00 | 1.00 | 15.72 |
| Also Incl | Rowan Mine | V101 | 302.00 | 302.50 | 0.50 | 371.08 |
| RLG-23-150 | Rowan Mine | V102 | 245.80 | 247.00 | 1.20 | 4.44 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 | 280.00 | 281.00 | 1.00 | 5.94 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V101 | 384.00 | 388.20 | 4.20 | 15.40 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V101 | 386.10 | 387.10 | 1.00 | 63.76 |
| RLG-23-151 | Rowan Mine | V103 | 201.00 | 203.00 | 2.00 | 4.73 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V103 | 201.00 | 202.00 | 1.00 | 9.11 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V102 | 227.00 | 227.50 | 0.50 | 5.55 |
| RLG-23-152 | Rowan Mine | V102 | 261.50 | 262.60 | 1.10 | 5.02 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V102 | 261.50 | 262.00 | 0.50 | 10.54 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V101 (hw)* | 300.00 | 304.00 | 4.00 | 6.84 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V101 (hw)* | 301.00 | 301.50 | 0.50 | 51.40 |
| AND | Rowan Mine | V101 | 344.95 | 349.15 | 4.20 | 10.41 |
| Incl. | Rowan Mine | V101 | 348.15 | 348.65 | 0.50 | 78.97 |
*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. Under 'Zone' column, (hw) is indicating 'hanging wall to' and (fw) is indicating 'footwall to' main vein zones.
A total of 17,000m of infill and expansion drilling was originally proposed for the Rowan Mine target in 2023. Based on the positive results received to date, the program has been expanded to 25,000m and is expected to be completed by year end 2023. The additional drill meters will be used to continue de-risking the Rowan Mine resource, and test the growth potential down-plunge on the highest-grade portions of the resource. Current drilling at Rowan has only tested mineralization down to a depth of approximately 550m. All of the high-grade zones still remain open below this vertical depth. The Red Lake Mining District is known to host orebodies that extend down to +4km depth, which bodes well for the down-plunge growth potential at Rowan.
It is the Company's belief that potential synergies could exist between high-grade resources at the Rowan Mine target area and Madsen. Early indications suggest that the gold mineralization at Rowan could be amenable to gravity separation. The Company has initiated a metallurgical study at Rowan to begin evaluating this potential opportunity, as well as a geotechnical study to better characterize the rock mass properties within the mineralized vein zones at Rowan.
In conjunction with infill and expansion drilling, the Company is also initiating the necessary baseline environmental and archaeological assessments to begin moving the project towards an Advanced Exploration Permit status. Those studies will include the following:
- Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment;
- Surface Water, Aquatic Ecosystems, Country Foods and Geochemistry Studies;
- Subsurface Water and Hydrologic Studies; and
- Fish Habitat, Terrestrial Vegetation, and Terrestrial Wildlife & Habitat Assessments.
FIGURE 1. Deposit-scale plan map of Rowan Mine Target area showing traces and intercepts for holes highlighted in this News Release.
TABLE 2: Drill collar summary for holes reported in this News Release.
| Hole ID | Target | Easting | Northing | Elev (m) | Length (m) | Azimuth | Dip |
| RLG-23-148 | Rowan Mine | 422051 | 5657752 | 380 | 435 | 0 | -53 |
| RLG-23-149B | Rowan Mine | 422051 | 5657752 | 380 | 390 | 355 | -54 |
| RLG-23-150 | Rowan Mine | 422051 | 5657752 | 380 | 483 | 4 | -58 |
| RLG-23-151 | Rowan Mine | 422171 | 5657799 | 365 | 387 | 355 | -64 |
| RLG-23-152 | Rowan Mine | 422171 | 5657799 | 365 | 384 | 340 | -60 |
DISCUSSION
The Rowan Mine Target consists of more than seven 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 drilling completed at the Rowan Mine Target 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 drilling program continue to confirm our thesis that quartz veining and gold mineralization continue at depth and along strike, with grades consistent with, or higher than those outlined in the current Inferred Mineral Resource which remains open in all directions. For example, the 100 Vein Zone - which is the furthest north vein currently modeled within the overall Rowan vein corridor - was previously interpreted to be a lower grade portion of the block model. Recent drilling has confirmed that higher grades are present within the 100 Vein Zone below 150m elevation, suggesting that gold grades are increasing at depth within this zone which is a trend that has been observed elsewhere in the Red Lake district. Drilling at the Rowan Mine Target area will continue with an emphasis on infill and expansion of the existing high-grade mineral resource.
FIGURE 2. Rowan Mine drill section showing assay highlights for Holes RLG-23-148, RLG-23-149B and RLG-23-150[1].
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1 Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 9.2 g/t Au and using a gold price of US$1,600/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the West Red Lake Project" dated December 13, 2022 prepared for WRLG by John Kita, P.Eng., and filed December 30, 2022 on www.sedar.com.
FIGURE 3. Rowan Mine drill section showing assay highlights for Holes RLG-23-151 and RLG-23-152[1].
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1 Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 9.2 g/t Au and using a gold price of US$1,600/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the West Red Lake Project" dated December 13, 2022 prepared for WRLG by John Kita, P.Eng., and filed December 30, 2022 on www.sedar.com.
FIGURE 4. Rowan Mine longitudinal section for Vein 101 showing all intercepts > 3 g/t Au. Assay highlights from current press release shown in red[1].
___________________________
1 Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 9.2 g/t Au and using a gold price of US$1,600/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the West Red Lake Project" dated December 13, 2022 prepared for WRLG by John Kita, P.Eng., and filed December 30, 2022 on www.sedar.com.
FIGURE 5. Rowan Mine longitudinal section for Vein 102 showing all intercepts > 3 g/t Au. Assay highlights from current press release shown in red[1].
___________________________
1 Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 9.2 g/t Au and using a gold price of US$1,600/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the West Red Lake Project" dated December 13, 2022 prepared for WRLG by John Kita, P.Eng., and filed December 30, 2022 on www.sedar.com.
FIGURE 6. Rowan Mine longitudinal section for Vein 103 showing all intercepts >3 g/t Au. Assay highlights from current press release shown in red[1].
___________________________
1 Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 9.2 g/t Au and using a gold price of US$1,600/oz. Please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the West Red Lake Project" dated December 13, 2022 prepared for WRLG by John Kita, P.Eng., and filed December 30, 2022 on www.sedar.com.
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 www.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 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:
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.
Figures accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9cd4db62-4f97-4a2c-9fdd-7eda87fd3bd6
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3b110bfe-9809-4d9a-af08-66273d1dc707
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1472d8ac-92d1-409a-96c8-baadde67da42
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1c4da133-f3da-4258-9d8a-b111c2adeeec
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c166263d-cc2b-4d9b-9b50-6b1e8141622e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c06c8cf6-d415-4251-bd25-706ba7ed87ea
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9463a2b5-9e61-4b83-a891-bec5ad2c7d19
