West Red Lake’s Madsen starts commercial output

West Red Lake Gold Mines’ (TSXV: WRLG) says its flagship Madsen mine in northwestern Ontario has reached commercial production about seven months after the decision to restart the historical operation.

The milestone was achieved after the mill at Madsen met the company’s operational requirements last month, the company backed by financier Canadian Mining Hall of Fame member Frank Giustra said Monday. It operated at 86% of its permitted throughput of 800 tonnes per day and averaged 94.6% in gold recoveries, delivering gold production of 3,215 ounces. Full capacity is expected by mid-year. 

“Achieving commercial production is a major milestone for any producer,” West Red Lake President and CEO Shane Williams said in a release. “It comes after a strong December that saw tonnage, grade, recoveries and production all perform to plan.”

Shares in West Red Lake Gold Mines gained 5.8% by Monday afternoon in Toronto, giving the company a market capitalization of $436.4 million. At $1.10 a share, the stock is near its 52-week high of $1.18.

Historical mine

The Madsen mine was a historic gold producer dating back to World War II, producing a total of 2.5 million oz. between 1938 and 1999. The mine was briefly back online in 2021 by then-owner Pure Gold but was shut down after a year due to costs.

In June 2023, West Red Lake took on the project and has since successfully completed test mining and major infrastructure projects. The decision to restart operations was announced last May, initially at 500 tonnes a day then ramping up through the year.

During 2025, the Madsen mine produced about 20,000 oz. of gold, including 7,000 oz. in the last quarter. A 2026 forecast is expected this quarter, the company said.

Drilling planned

In addition to ramping up its production, CEO Williams also noted opportunities to “continue creating value” at Madsen through additional exploration.

“We are drilling at Fork with a view to bring that deposit into the mine plan this year,” he said, noting that 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 eight months so that today we are mining this high-margin mineralization,” he added.