West Red Lake Gold Declares Commercial Production at Madsen Gold Mine
VANCOUVER, Jan. 12, 2026 - West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. ("West Red Lake Gold" or "WRLG" or the "Company") (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQX: WRLGF) is pleased to declare commercial production at its 100% owned Madsen Gold Mine, located in the Red Lake Mining District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada.
The Madsen Mine achieved commercial production as of January 1, 2026. The mill averaged 689 tonnes per day ("tpd") in December 2025. This represents 86% of permitted throughput of 800 tpd and meets the Company's internal commercial production requirement of 30 consecutive days of mill throughput at 65% or greater of permitted capacity. Operational stability, the other internal requirement, is also in place at Madsen. Consistent strong mill recoveries, which averaged 94.6% in December, enabled production of 3,215 ounces of gold.
"We are delighted to announce commercial production at the Madsen Mine, achieved only seven months after completion of the bulk sample," said Shane Williams, President and CEO. "Achieving commercial production is a major milestone for any producer and it comes after a strong December that saw tonnage, grade, recoveries, and production all perform to plan. Credit and gratitude go to the site operations team, who delivered a responsible and methodical mine ramp up. I also want to thank our partners the Lac Seul and Wabauskang First Nations and the community of Red Lake for their longstanding support."
"We will continue to ramp up from this strong base, and I anticipate Madsen will reach sustained permitted capacity by mid-2026."
For the first quarter ("Q1") of 2026, mill feed will come predominantly from the 4447 area, the high-grade zone in South Austin that the Company defined in 2025. Mill feed is expected to average in excess of 6 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au) in Q1.
In December the Madsen Mine produced 21,389 tonnes of ore, which is an average of 689 tonnes per day. The tonnes carried an average grade of 4.94 g/t Au. Mill recovery of 94.6% over the month produced 3,215 ounces of gold in December.
In the fourth quarter ("Q4") of 2025 the Madsen Mine produced 49,162 tonnes of ore, which is an average of 534 tonnes per day. The tonnes carried an average grade of 5.06 g/t Au. Mill recovery of 95% over the quarter recovered 7,379 ounces of gold in the quarter.
The operation poured 7,200 ounces of gold in Q4. (Note that recovered and poured ounces do no align exactly due to gold in circuit and timing of gold pours.) Those ounces were sold at an average price of US$4,150 per ounce for total gold sales revenue of US$30 million.
In 2025, the Madsen Mine poured 20,000 oz. gold. This gold was sold at an average price of US$3,650 per oz. for total gold sales revenues of US$73 million. The Company ended 2025 with CAD$46 million cash and gold receivables.
| Tonnes Milled | % Permitted Daily Mill Capacity | Gold Grade (g/t Au) | Ounces Produced | ||||
| December 2025 | 21,389 | 86 | % | 4.94 | 3,215 | ||
| Q4 2025 | 49,162 | 67 | % | 5.06 | 7,379 | ||
| Ounces Poured | Average Sale Price (US$ per oz.) | Total Gold Sales Revenue | |||||
| Q4 2025 | 7,200 | US$4,150 | US$30M | ||||
| FY 2025 | 20,000 | US$3,650 | US$73M | ||||
Table 1. Madsen Mine operational results for December and Q4 2025
"The potential to continue creating value at Madsen through multiple opportunities makes this achievement of commercial production especially exciting," said Mr. Williams.
"We are drilling at Fork with a view to bring that deposit into the mine plan this year. The shaft is nearing operation and work to date has revealed a path to potentially increase shaft tonnage significantly in the medium term. We are starting to delineate a new high-grade area in Lower Austin called the 904 Complex that is similar to 4447, the high-grade area in South Austin that we advanced through definition drilling, mine design, and access development within 8 months so that today we are mining this high-margin mineralization. The immediate impact of mining these jewelry box-type areas was realized when material from 4447 lifted the gold grade through the Madsen Mill to levels reaching 8.9 g/t Au in December. We look forward to pulling a majority of our ore tonnes from the 4447 area through Q1."
"It has taken immense work to get here and it is fantastic to see our methodical approach generate the results and opportunities we knew Madsen could deliver."
The Company anticipates releasing 2026 guidance during Q1.
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, and by Hayley Halsall-Whitney, P.Eng., Vice President of Operations for West Red Lake Gold and the Qualified Person for technical services at the West Red Lake Project, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ABOUT WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES
West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. is a gold mining company that is publicly traded and focused on its flagship high-grade 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 owns the Rowan Property in Red Lake, which hosts a small, high-grade deposit that West Red Lake Gold is looking to advance towards production.
ON BEHALF OF WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD.
"Shane Williams"
Shane Williams
President & Chief Executive Officer
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Gwen Preston
Vice President Communications
Tel: (604) 609-6132
Email: investors@wrlgold.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.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT AND 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, levels of activity, production levels, performance or achievement of the Company to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release.
Forward-looking information involves numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results, levels of activity, production levels, performance or achievement of the Company might differ materially from those suggested in any forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, unexpected changes in production and costs guidance, 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 December 31, 2024, and the Company's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2024, 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.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f654a86c-8739-462a-99b5-8fc2bb515266
