Gold Co. Fires Up Shutdown Mill in Prolific Mining District
Research Report

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (WRLG:TSX.V; WRLGF:OTCQB; FRA:UJO) restarted the mill on March 10 at its Madsen mine project in northwestern Ontario's Red Lake Gold District, reported Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Matthew O'Keefe in a March 19 research note. The mill had been shut down 28 months earlier, but since then, has been maintained and has undergone extensive precommissioning work.

"Overall, the company remains on track for full restart of operations by midyear," O'Keefe wrote.

159% Potential Return

Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its CA$1.50 per share one-year target price on the Canadian explorer-developer, now trading at about CA$0.58 per share, noted O'Keefe. The difference between these prices reflects a potential return on investment of 159%.

West Red Lake Gold remains a Buy.

Nearing Full Relaunch

O'Keefe reported some of what has been done at Madsen in preparation for the full resumption of operations there. He pointed out that development is well-advanced.

The mining company has been processing low-grade stockpiles through the mill, and so far this has gone smoothly without any operational hitches. Next week, the team will process the first batch of the bulk sample material, and will do so sequentially by stope. This is so differing amounts of expected and actual tons, grade and ounces can be reconciled for each stope, "an important derisking exercise," wrote O'Keefe.

In other progress, the 1.4 kilometer connection drift is 94% done, noted the analyst. Accommodations for the 114-member crew are finished and now housing the workers. The additional underground development continues to advance. Importantly, this is increasing access to mining areas that will allow for multiple working faces and operational flexibility.

Stock Specifics

The company has 343.2 million (343.2M) basic shares outstanding and 517M fully diluted shares. Its market cap is CA$199 million. Its 52-week range is CA$0.52–1.04 per share.