VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 10, 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 provide an update on the Company's interpretation and vision for the Fork Deposit ("Fork") at its 100% owned Madsen Property located in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The Fork deposit currently contains an Indicated mineral resource of 20,900 ounces ("oz") grading 5.3 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au"), with an additional Inferred resource of 49,500 oz grading 5.2 g/t Au.

WRLG has recently completed a re-evaluation of the Fork deposit and has recognized a shallow, high-grade, low-plunging zone of gold mineralization that is located approximately 250 meters ("m") southwest from existing underground development at Madsen.

The zone trends north-south and has been defined by previous drilling over an area of 400m by 250m and shows potential for further expansion along strike to the south. Average thickness of the zone is conservatively estimated at approximately 2m based on existing core length intercepts.

The shallow nature of this target will allow for systematic and efficient infill and expansion drilling from surface with holes averaging 150-250m depth. Fork will be a priority drill target for WRLG in 2025.

FORK DRILLING HIGHLIGHTS (HISTORIC):

• Hole RUM-08-49 Intersected 13.05m @ 13.97 g/t Au, from 107.65m to 120.7m, Including 3.63m @ 30.79 g/t Au, from 110.37m to 114.00m, Also including 1.97m @ 32.55 g/t Au, from 118.73m to 120.70m.
  
• Hole PDM04-318 Intersected 9.3m @ 8.14 g/t Au, from 128.1m to 137.4m, Including 0.7m @ 85.70 g/t Au, from 128.1m to 128.8m, Also including 0.6m @ 21.3 g/t Au, from 136.8m to 137.4m.
  
• Hole RUM-08-68 Intersected 1.3m @ 50.48 g/t Au, from 95.7m to 97.0m, Including 0.2m @ 169.09 g/t Au, from 95.8m to 96.0m, Also including 0.4m @ 53.27 g/t Au, from 96.2m to 96.6m.Hole PG14-011 Intersected 3.5m @ 17.18 g/t Au, from 152.5m to 156.0m, Including 1.6m @ 33.80 g/t Au, from 154.4m to 156.0m.

Shane Williams, President and CEO, stated, "What was once considered a somewhat broad, intermediate-grade portion of the satellite resource inventory at Madsen, Fork has now been re-envisioned as a high-grade near-mine resource expansion target that will be a top priority for the exploration team in 2025. The shallow nature of this target will allow for rapid advancement through surface definition drilling and, with its proximity to existing underground development, it's not difficult to see a path forward for Fork making its way into the production pipeline at Madsen. This strategy is directly in-line with WRLG's hub-and-spoke model for Madsen as we continue to evaluate and advance additional high-grade gold opportunities within the Red Lake district."

Plan maps and sections for the historic Fork drilling results outlined in this release are provided in Figures 1 through 3.

TABLE 1. Significant intercepts (>1 g/t Au) from historic drilling at Fork Target.

*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. Internal dilution for composite intervals does not exceed 1m for samples grading <0.1 g/t Au.

TABLE 2: Drill collar summary for holes reported in this News Release.

DISCUSSION:

The Fork deposit lies within two concordant shear zones spaced 100-150 m apart. These structures strike north-north-easterly and dip about -60°. The upper lens is known as the Main Zone and occurs along a shear zone that is continuous to the southwest with the shear zone that hosts the DV and CK Zones. The distribution of gold within this shear zone is controlled by the intersection with the contacts of minor ultramafic sills and iron formation units within the basalt.

The lower lens has been referred to as the Fork Footwall Zone (and it occurs within the Russet Lake Shear Zone (Baker, 2017). Here the Russet Lake Shear Zone is wholly within ultramafic volcanic rocks of the Russet Lake Ultramafic and gold mineralization is interpreted to be associated with the intersection of the shear with internal flow contacts. Significantly, the Fork Footwall Zone occurs within the same structural/stratigraphic position as the 8 Zone which occurs about 1.8 km down plunge to the northeast.

A third resource domain (North-South Domain) has been modeled between the Fork Footwall Zone and Fork Main Zone. It is not clear geologically how this relates to the modeled structures but may be a short second-order splay.

The Fork deposit is cut by late, discordant felsic, intermediate, and mafic dikes as in the mine. The mineralized body is curvilinear and is weakly folded by steeply southeast plunging F2 folds. Gold is predominantly associated with deformed quartz veins hosted within an envelope of highly strained and hydrothermally altered rock controlled by shear zones that developed oblique to the host volcanic stratigraphy. Less commonly, gold is found in replacement-style disseminations within altered basalt along and proximal to contacts with interflow iron formation or ultramafic sills. Geochemically, altered rocks at the Fork deposit are sodium-depleted as at the Madsen deposit. The Fork deposit has been drill tested over a 600 m strike length and to a vertical extent of 375 m depth. The mineralized zones are typically 1 m to 5 m thick. The deposit is located approximately 350 m from existing underground development in the West Ramp.

The Fork Footwall target is the sparsely drilled southwestern extension of the Fork Footwall Zone that particularly targets the intersection of the host Russet Lake Shear Zone structure with the Russet Lake ultramafic and overlying Balmer basalt contact. This 300 m long target has been tested by 11 drill holes and remains an active target.

High resolution versions of all the figures contained in this press release can be found at the following web address:

FIGURE 1. Regional Targeting Map for Madsen Surface Exploration Program.

FIGURE 2. Regional Long Section Showing Location of High-Grade Fork Zone Relative to Madsen and Regional Targets.

FIGURE 3. Fork Vein Long Section Showing High-Grade Historic Intercepts from Drilling Completed Between 2004 and 2015.
QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL

Exploration drilling completed on surface at the Madsen Mine consists of oriented NQ-sized diamond drill core. 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 > 10 g/t Au are reanalyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on a 50g sample (SGS Code GO_FAG50V). Samples with visible gold or returning gold values > 30 g/t Au 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 – 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 .

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@wrgold.com or visit the Company's website at

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 plans for the potential restart of mining operations at the Madsen Mine, the potential of the Madsen Mine; any untapped growth potential in the Madsen deposit or Rowan deposit; timing of pre-feasibility study 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 .

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 .

Infographics accompanying this announcement are available at