The Madsen Mine in Red Lake is back in production for the first time since the fall of 2022.
West Red Lake Gold Mines announced May 22 that its board of directors has approved management’s decision to restart the mine immediately.
The plan for this year is to mine and process 500 tonnes per day for the first two months and increase that rate to 800 tonnes per day over the second half of this year.
“This restart decision is a major milestone that has been achieved by systematically derisking the technical, operating, and funding requirements of a sustainable high-grade gold operation at Madsen,” said company president-CEO Shane Williams in a statement, “And I am very pleased to deliver this restart to all key stakeholders, including our shareholders and neighbours.”
The company was encouraged by the results of a test mining program, which included the extraction of a 15,000-tonne bulk sample. The resulting tonnage and grade validated the approach for how it plans to mine Madsen.
Located 10 kilometres southeast of the town of Red Lake, Madsen is a historic mine property going back to the 1930s.
Operations at Madsen were halted in October 2022 when a predecessor company, Pure Gold Mining, entered CCAA protection. West Red Lake picked up the dormant asset for only $6.5 million the next year during a court-ordered sale process.
The company spent the next two years drilling in and around the mine to better understand the ore body, to define new zones, and map underexplored areas with high-grade gold potential. The latest investor presentation said more than 200 are working at the site.
