West Red Lake Gold Mines has secured a loan to assist in the restart of the inactive Madsen Mine in Red Lake.
The Vancouver gold company announced Dec. 31 that it has entered into a loan agreement with Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II LP to borrow up to a maximum amount of US$35 million. The funds will be issued in three tranches with the first tranche drawn down on Dec. 31.
West Red Lake said the proceeds will be used to complete the remaining capital costs for the anticipated mine restart and for other corporate, exploration and working capital expenses.
The Madsen Mine was shuttered in October 2022 when Pure Gold Mining entered creditor protection. West Red Lake acquire the mine and 47 square kilometres of ground outside the town of Red Lake in 2023.
In a Jan. 2 news release, West Red Lake said closing this deal is a “major de-risking step” and that now it’s sufficiently cashed up to restart the Madsen Mine in 2025.
Production mining and milling ramp-up starts in the second quarter of this year. The ramp-up schedule will involve some test mining through excavation of some bulk samples and a mill startup to process samples.
