TORONTO, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX:WDO) (“Wesdome” or the “Company”) today announces its gold production results for the second quarter of 2021 (“Q2”).

Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO commented, “Q2 production at the Eagle River underground mine of 29,836 ounces was 39% higher than Q1 (21,396 ounces) driven by an 18% increase in both recovered gold grades and in Eagle River tonnes milled. Higher production rates from the 311 Zone stope allowed production throughput to reach over 693 tonnes per day (\'tpd\') during the quarter. Total H1 2021 production at the Eagle River Complex is 52,939 ounces, leaving us very well positioned to deliver on our guidance of 92,000 – 105,000 ounces.

“At Kiena, development is proceeding on track to produce our first commercial ounces of gold from this asset in Q3 2021, where guidance is 15,000 – 25,000 for H2 2021. This is a transformational time for Wesdome as we begin to realize our vision of becoming Canada’s next mid-tier gold producer.”

Amounts are denominated in Canadian dollars Second Quarter Year-to-Date
2021 2020 Variance % +/(-) 2021 2020 Variance % +/(-)
Ore milled (tonnes)
Eagle River 63,057 42,349 20,708 49% 116,596 98,223 18,373 19%
Mishi 9,347 13,721 -4,374 (32%) 26,567 24,768 1,799 7%
72,404 56,070 16,334 29% 143,163 122,991 20,172 16%

Head grade (grams per tonne, “g/t”)
Eagle River 15.1 18.1 (3.0) (17%) 14.1 15.8 (1.7) (11%)
Mishi 2.4 2.9 (0.5) (17%) 2.4 2.7 (0.3) (11%)

Gold production (ounces)
Eagle River 29,836 24,117 5,719 24% 51,232 48,574 2,658 5%
Mishi 539 1,026 -487 (47%) 1,707 1,690 17 1%
Total Gold Production 30,375 25,142 5,233 21% 52,939 50,264 2,675 5%

Production sold (ounces) 3 28,500 23,140 5,360 23% 50,957 49,640 1,317 3%

Revenue from gold sales ($ millions) 4 $63.8 $54.7 $9.1 17% $109.7 $112.0 ($2.3) (2%)

Average realized price per ounce 2 $2,239 $2,365 -126 (5%) $2,232 $2,257 -25 (1%)

Notes:

Operating numbers may not add due to rounding.
Average realized price per ounce is a non-IFRS performance measure and is calculated by dividing the revenue from gold sales by the number of ounces sold for a given period.
YTD 2021 production sold includes 1,793 ounces of gold sold from the Kiena bulk sample which was processed in Q4 2020 and sold in Q1 2021.
YTD 2021 revenue excludes $3.9 million of revenue from the Kiena bulk sample, which was processed in Q4 2020 and sold in Q1 2021. The incidental revenue was credited against the cost of the Kiena exploration asset.
Technical Disclosure

The technical content of this release has been compiled, reviewed and approved by Marc-Andre Pelletier, P. Eng, Chief Operating Officer, a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 -Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

COVID-19

The health and safety of our employees, contractors, vendors, and consultants is the Company’s top priority. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Wesdome has adopted all public health guidelines regarding safety measures and protocols at all of its mine operations and corporate offices. In addition, our internal COVID-19 Taskforce continues to monitor developments and implement policies and programs intended to protect those who are engaged in business with the Company.

Through care and planning, to date the Company has successfully maintained operations, however there can be no assurance that this will continue despite our best efforts. Future conditions may warrant reduced or suspended production activities which could negatively impact our ability to maintain projected timelines and objectives. Consequently, the Company’s actual future production and production guidance is subject to higher levels of risk than usual. We are continuing to closely monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available.

ABOUT WESDOME
Wesdome has had over 30 years of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Company’s strategy is to build Canada’s next intermediate gold producer, producing 200,000+ ounces from two mines in Ontario and Québec. The Eagle River Underground Mine in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold at a rate of 92,000 – 105,000 ounces per year. Wesdome is actively exploring its brownfields asset, the Kiena Complex in Val d’Or, Québec. The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930-metre shaft and 2,000 tonne-per-day mill, and a restart of operations was announced on May 26, 2021. The Company has completed a PFS in support of the production restart decision. The Company also retains meaningful exposure to the Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario through its equity position in Goldshore Resources Inc. The Company has approximately 139.7 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WDO”.