Interview with Shane Williams, President & CEO of West Red Lake Gold Mines
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/growth-stories-winning-teams-that-know-how-to-find-gold-get-it-out-of-the-ground-9290
Recording date: 16th July 2026
West Red Lake Gold Mines' second-quarter 2026 operational update provides the clearest evidence yet that the ramp-up strategy at its Madsen Mine, in Ontario's Red Lake district, is translating into measurable production gains. Gold output rose 51% quarter-on-quarter to 8,576 ounces, while mined ounces climbed 73% to 10,459, reflecting improvements in both mining rate and average grade. Mined tonnage increased 46% to 75,524 tonnes, and average mined grade rose 23% to 4.3 g/t from 3.5 g/t in Q1.
Perhaps most notable for investors focused on operational leverage: mining rates in the back half of Q2 consistently exceeded the mill's currently permitted 800 tpd capacity, a reversal from the mine's history under prior operator Pure Gold, which struggled to achieve comparable throughput. The excess mining rate allowed West Red Lake Gold to build a surface stockpile of roughly 10,768 tonnes, representing about half a month of mill feed, providing operational flexibility heading into the second half of the year.
CEO Shane Williams was direct in confirming the company is now generating cash rather than simply breaking even, and that debt taken on during the Madsen restart is beginning to be repaid. This is a meaningful signal for a company only recently transitioned from distressed-asset restart to commercial producer.
Grade improvement is expected to continue as mining advances into non-remnant areas of the deposit, including the 4447 zone and the 904 Complex, both of which sit in previously unmined portions of Madsen and are expected to lift average grade toward 6-8 g/t by year-end. Management also highlighted a meaningful reduction in mining dilution, attributing this to the discovery that historic survey inaccuracies had overstated the proximity of new mining areas to old workings, enabling a shift toward more efficient long-hole open stoping.
Full-year 2026 guidance of 35,000 to 45,000 ounces remains unchanged, with management targeting roughly 25,000-30,000 ounces in the second half of the year. Combined with year-to-date production of approximately 14,243 ounces across Q1 and Q2, this guidance range appears achievable based on the trajectory reported to date, though the company still has one further quarter of ramp-up expected before reaching steady-state operations.
For investors, the key watch items are whether Q3 delivers a comparable step-up to Q2, whether the promised fuller operational disclosure (including drill-model reconciliation from over 200,000 metres of underground drilling) supports management's confidence in the resource model, and progress on longer-dated catalysts including the Austin 904 Complex's advancement toward the 2027 mine plan and the combined Madsen-Rowan Pre-Feasibility Study expected in the second half of 2026. The company's ability to demonstrate sustained, rather than one-off, improvement will likely be the key determinant of how the market re-rates the stock from restart risk toward reliable producer status.
View West Red Lake Gold Mines' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/west-red-lake-gold-mines-inc
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