Interview with Shane Williams, President & CEO of West Red Lake Gold Mines

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/west-red-lake-gold-mines-tsxvwrlg-de-risked-restart-strategy-in-high-grade-gold-ontario-project-5944

Recording date: 2nd November 2024

West Red Lake Gold Mines (WRLGM) is on the verge of successfully restarting the historically productive Madsen gold mine in the prolific Red Lake district of Ontario, Canada. After inheriting the project following a false start by the previous operator, the new WRLG management team, led by CEO Shane Williams, has spent the last 15 months and $15 million de-risking the asset and positioning it for a successful return to production.

A key advantage for WRLG is the ability to leverage over $350 million of sunk capital from prior development work at Madsen. This existing infrastructure, which includes a fully built and permitted mill, tailings facility, and significant underground development, provides a solid foundation to fast-track the restart at materially lower capital intensity than a greenfield project. To address the challenges faced by the previous operator, WRLG has assembled an experienced board and management team with a track record of fixing troubled projects. The team is laser-focused on the two key areas that hindered past efforts: better understanding the resource and optimizing the mine plan.

Importantly, WRLGM is not just relying on historical data, but has been actively operating and collecting real-time information over the past 15 months to inform its upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). This disciplined approach and use of actual, recent operating data should result in a much more robust and reliable study than those based solely on benchmarks and estimates.
With the PFS expected by the end of November, key upcoming catalysts for WRLGM include the report's results, continued de-risking of the resource and mine plan via focused drilling and test mining, and the securing of financing to execute the restart plan. The company's ability to raise $29 million in a challenging market, largely from new investors, speaks to growing market confidence in the Madsen story and WRLGM's strategy.

While not without risk, the combination of a high-grade resource in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, significant sunk capital, an experienced team with a prudent approach, and near-term catalysts make WRLGM a compelling speculative investment opportunity with the potential for outsized returns. If the company can continue to deliver on its plan and demonstrate a clear path to first production, the market is likely to take notice and reward early investors.

View West Red Lake Gold Mines' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/west-red-lake-gold-mines-inc

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