West Red Lake Gold Unlocks Significant Value from Madsen Mill Cleanup

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 02, 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 report on progress of its ongoing Madsen mill cleanup and gold recovery program (the "Gold Recovery Program") at its 100% owned Madsen Mine located in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The Company carried out a preliminary phase of the Gold Recovery Program in late 2023 that recovered 415 troy ounces ("oz") of gold ("Au") with proceeds of approximately $750,000.

Based on the significant amount of gold recovered during the initial investigation, a second and more comprehensive phase of the Gold Recovery Program was initiated in early 2024 with a focus on the ball mills and the semi-autogenous grinding ("SAG") mills. The SAG mills are the primary or first stage grinder for material entering the mill, which is then followed by the secondary ball mills. Photographs of sample material being recovered from the mills are below in Figures 1 and 2.

It is anticipated that the Company may recover at least 2,500 oz Au from the clean up.

As part of the second phase of the Gold Recovery Program, the Company has engaged a firm in February 2024 which specializes in gold mill cleanup and recovery. The Gold Recovery Program is expected to be completed by the end of May 2024.

Shane Williams, President & CEO, stated, "Less than a year after acquiring the Madsen Mine, we are already seeing real value being uncovered from this asset. Our immediate focus has been recovering gold throughout the Madsen processing plant with our second cleanup program nearing completion. With gold prices over US$2,300/oz, this material could be a potential one-off source of cash flow during 2024."

It was known that the previous operator had reconciliation issues between the mined ore and the milled ore at the Madsen Mine.

After finding substantial gold locked up in the circuits during the preliminary phase of the Gold Recovery Program, the Company launched a thorough technical investigation of the mill and mill workings to understand the degree to which this contributed to the previous operator's reconciliation issues.

In certain locations on site, installation errors had created sizeable "gold traps", resulting in a notable amount of gold remaining in these physical gold traps instead of making it through the mill. Gold was found physically trapped in ill-fitting liners in the ball mill, in the SAG mills and in uncleaned filters, all of which certainly would have impacted the previous operator's reconciliation issues.

The WRLG Madsen Mine team is making adjustments to the mill workings and processes to ensure that similar loss will not be repeated.

The Company looks forward to reporting the total amount of gold recovered on completion of the Gold Recovery Program.

FIGURE 1. Photograph of sample concentrate material with coarse visible gold collected as part of the cleanup program.

FIGURE 2. Photograph of material to be processed from the mill cleanup program.

QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL

The Madsen Mine deposit presently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 ? Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("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, and amended April 24, 2024 (the "Madsen Report"). 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 Madsen Report. A full copy of the Madsen 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.

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: [email protected] 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 the Rowan deposit; the results of further cleanup and recovery at the Madsen Mine; 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; timing and results of the cleanup and recovery at the Madsen Mine; 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:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9349c16e-4e22-40cd-bf7b-8e1d8aca76a5
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f071c632-b34a-4754-a792-15b608eb6cce
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/90c9c994-1324-4636-be21-307c0d17a0b9