West Red Lake Gold Insights from Madsen Mine Bulk Sample Program
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (“West Red Lake Gold” or “WRLG” or the “Company”) (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is thrilled to share valuable insights gained from the recent test mining and bulk sampling at its totally owned Madsen Mine in the Red Lake Gold District. The project has produced learnings that are directly influencing the development of a robust mine plan characterized by larger stopes, increased mining efficiencies, and more cost-effective mining methods than previously expected.
Objectives of the Test Mining and Bulk Sample
The test mining program had two principal objectives:
- To confirm the effectiveness of the geological, engineering, and mining workflows at Madsen, allowing for accurate modeling and mining of mineralization.
- To evaluate various mining scenarios and utilize the resulting data to facilitate a confident mine design aimed at maximizing economic extraction.
The results from the bulk sampling have successfully met the first goal, with a close correlation found between projected and actual figures in terms of tonnes, grades, and contained ounces across six stopes located within three areas of the resource. This reinforces the Company’s capacity to mine at Madsen as planned.
In achieving the second goal, the test mining revealed effective mining right next to historic stopes, which lessens design constraints and opens new resource opportunities.
Efficiency in Mining Operations
One of the noteworthy revelations during the operations was the significant efficiency stemming from mining larger stopes and clusters of adjacent stopes, commonly referred to as mining complexes. These opportunities are becoming apparent at Madsen, as mine design is recognized as both a technical and economic endeavor.
The comprehensive workflow leading to a detailed mine design at Madsen consists of the following steps:
- Definition drilling for each resource area is conducted, with an average drill hole spacing of 7 meters.
- The updated short-term model is revised to include the new drilling information.
- Stopes are engineered based on the updated model to maximize the economic extraction of mineralization, factoring in expected gold prices.
Gold mineralization at Madsen frequently includes high-grade lenses surrounded by lower-grade mineralized zones. This workflow focuses on defining high-grade areas that could be overlooked due to broader spaced data sets. Recent high-grade drilling results from the South Austin area validate this potential.
Impact of Gold Pricing on Mine Design
As part of the mine design process, West Red Lake Gold is currently aligning its strategies with a consensus long-term gold price of US$2,350 per ounce, compared to US$1,680 per ounce used in the earlier Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The lower gold price baseline in the PFS resulted in a plan where 60% of mining involved smaller, high-grade stopes utilizing cut-and-fill methods. This method posed higher costs and resulted in a greater requirement for access development over the mine's lifespan.
Despite the PFS mine plan demonstrating solid economics warranting the restart decision, incorporating a higher gold price into the subsequent mine designs effectively reduces the necessary cutoff grade for resource inclusion. This approach allows additional mineral resources and overall ounces for mine planning to be considered.
When lower-grade tonnes are determined to be economically viable, it paves the way for larger stopes that can encase multiple high-grade gold lenses together with surrounding lower-grade material. This leads to innovative mining shapes surrounding the mineralized areas that had not been thought of previously.
Benefits of Larger Stopes
Larger stopes and clusters known as mining complexes can substantially improve the economic viability and scale of mining compared to smaller, isolated stopes, positively influencing three key economic factors:
- Mining cost: Larger stopes can typically be mined using long hole stoping techniques that are more cost-effective per tonne when compared to traditional cut-and-fill mining methods.
- Cost of access development per tonne mined: When stopes are larger or grouped together, the fixed costs for developing access can be shared across a greater number of ounces produced.
- Flexibility and efficiency: Concentrating on fewer large mining complexes at a time optimizes equipment, personnel, and material movement planning, significantly increasing efficiency on-site.
Figures illustrating examples of mining complexes showcase areas where tonnage and contained ounce profiles have markedly improved through effective definition drilling, resource model updates, and economic stope design.
A broader advantage of mining larger stopes at Madsen is the potential for extracting more of the resource. Previous mining plans based on a gold price of US$1,680 per ounce would quickly deplete deposits, leading to a PFS probable reserve of only 478,000 ounces over seven years from a considerably larger indicated resource base.
In a favorable gold price situation, mine designs can convert more of the resource into reserves, indicating a longer potential mine life while enhancing profitability and project economics.
Overall, the successful correlation between expected and actual mined figures indicates that the Company's approach—featuring well-structured definition drilling, adaptive mine engineering, and disciplined, efficient mining—enables a robust mining operation at Madsen. This meticulous engineering and design process evolves alongside gold price fluctuations, remaining the Company’s guiding principle at the Madsen Mine.
Future Directions and Company News
In other developments, West Red Lake Gold has accepted the resignation of Jasvir Kaloti from the role of Corporate Secretary. Leadership expresses gratitude for her contributions and wishes her well. In the interim, Chief Financial Officer, Harpreet Dhaliwal, will assume this role until a suitable successor is identified.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main insights from West Red Lake Gold's bulk sampling?
The bulk sampling highlighted larger stopes, improved mining efficiencies, and reduced costs which are crucial for shaping the mine plan.
What objectives were set for the test mining program?
The objectives were to confirm mining processes accurately model mineralization and to explore mining scenarios for optimal mine design.
How does the pricing of gold affect mine planning?
A higher gold price allows for lower cutoff grades, improving the overall feasibility of mining more resources.
What value do larger stopes bring?
Larger stopes lead to decreased mining costs, lower access development costs, and increased efficiency in mining operations.
What recent changes have occurred in company leadership?
Jasvir Kaloti has resigned as Corporate Secretary, with interim duties taken on by CFO Harpreet Dhaliwal.
