West Red Lake’s Original Guidance Targets 35,000 to 45,000 Ounces of Gold in 2026
Key Facts
The company announced the revision in an operational update issued on October 27, covering the third quarter at the Madsen mine in Ontario. The mine produced 7,859 ounces during the quarter, compared with 8,576 ounces in the second quarter and 5,667 ounces in the first quarter. The new range replaces previous guidance of 35,000 to 45,000 ounces, which the company said after its second-quarter results the mine remained on track to achieve. The lower outlook means the year's remaining production will be measured against an annual plan below the one the company announced earlier.
The company said difficulties recruiting and retaining skilled underground workers affected operations, alongside challenges extracting some remaining stopes compared with expectations. Third-quarter mining focused mainly on remaining areas of the Madsen deposit, whose average grades were lower than those of some new mining areas under development. Ore mined totaled 63,945 tonnes, while gold ounces mined came to 7,689 ounces, and the mill processed an average of 867 tonnes per day. These figures show that operating constraints affected both mining and ore extraction, while the mill continued to process substantial daily volumes. The update did not specify how much each of these factors contributed to the guidance reduction.
On a quarterly basis, third-quarter production declined from the second quarter's 8,576 ounces but remained above the 5,667 ounces recorded in the first quarter. Year-to-date production totaled 22,102 ounces, after the company produced 20,000 ounces during 2025, when the Madsen mine moved from restart activities to operating status. In September alone, the mine produced 3,320 ounces, its strongest monthly performance since restarting, according to the company. This monthly level points to improving production at the end of the quarter, although total quarterly output came in below the previous quarter. In the second quarter, the company reported positive free cash flow of $9.7 million, and cash and cash equivalents totaled about $31.2 million at the end of June.
On the operating infrastructure front, the company installed and commissioned a secondary crusher during the third quarter, saying it now supports the mill's ability to process up to 1,000 tonnes per day. This follows average processing of 867 tonnes per day during the quarter, placing the new capacity among efforts to increase the plant's available throughput. But the company also linked the guidance reduction to labor and stope extraction challenges, operating factors that increased processing capacity alone cannot resolve. Delayed access to the 4447 complex in the South Austin area until the second quarter, rather than mid-first quarter as planned, was tied to prioritizing development and infrastructure work and access to additional mining areas. Mining is expected to begin in the 904 complex and the Fork deposit during the first half of 2027, as part of a plan to expand production fronts.
West Red Lake said it expects to release the integrated preliminary feasibility study for the Madsen and Rowan mines in the coming weeks. The study will present a unified production plan in which the Madsen plant serves as the processing hub, while Rowan operates as an underground satellite mine within the plan. Over the longer term, the company is targeting a gradual increase in production from its Red Lake platform over the next four years to about 120,000 ounces annually, a level it said is close to 300% above 2026 production levels. The company set November 27, after market close, as the date for releasing its unaudited financial and operating results for the three, six and nine months ended September 30. It also announced a webcast to discuss the results on November 30 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time, or 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.