TSX-V-listed West Red Lake is gearing up for a big year in 2025. After bolstering its financings through recent fundraisings, the company is setting its sights on restarting the Madsen gold mine, in Ontario, in the second half of next year.
The company is currently working on a prefeasibility study (PFS) that will outline its the Madsen restart plan, with an expected release in early 2025.
West Red Lake has pinpointed several large-scale projects at the mine site that are crucial to the restart plan. The company will begin work on these critical path projects in the coming weeks and month. This work will run parallel to ongoing drilling, exploration and engineering work that is informing the PFS and outlining potential project enhancements in the future.
“With the funds raised in our recent financings, including C$10-million in Canadian Development Expense flow-through funding, we are excited to get started on these important projects,” said president and CEO Shane Williams.
One of the projects is a connection drift, which entails a 1 200 m haulage way to connect the East and West portals/declines at the Madsen mine, to increase material hauling efficiency, and improve ventilation and safety. The company’s recent financing raised C$33-million, of which C$10-million were flow-through funds that could be used to fund development of the haulage way.
West Red Lake will also install a permanent primary crusher as part of the Madsen mill, which previously relied on a temporary leased crusher.
The company will initiate a test mining programme to assess long hole stoping and cut-and-fill mining methods on a range of mining environments at the mine.
"With a year of work under our belts at Madsen, we know what needs to be procured, built, and developed at the mine site over the next six to twelve months to achieve our goal of restarting the mine in 2025," said Williams.