West Red Lake Gold Mines has secured financing of more than C$68m ($49.34m) to fund the production restart at the Madsen Gold Mine in the Red Lake district of Ontario, Canada.

The package includes a $35m loan facility from Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II and a $20m bought-deal equity offering.

The loan facility, bearing interest at SOFR (secured overnight financing rate) plus 8% over 42 months, is contingent on definitive documentation and due diligence.

Led by Raymond James, the equity offering involves nearly 29 million units priced at C$0.69 each, with each unit comprising a common share and a purchase warrant.

The offering's proceeds will advance the Madsen Mine restart plan, alongside working capital and corporate purposes.

Acquired in June 2023, the Madsen Mine project has seen West Red Lake Gold complete 40,000m of definition drilling, significant engineering and studies to inform a pre-feasibility study.

The company's test mining programme, which will extend into the first quarter of 2025, will precede the transition to mining production.

The operational mill will process stockpiled bulk samples, enabling reconciliation of estimated and milled gold grades. The mine is set to be commissioned in 2025.

President and CEO Shane Williams said: “This finance package provides the capital anticipated to restart the Madsen mine, according to our detailed internal mine plan.

“Upon closing this C$68m package, along with existing cash on hand, we anticipate the company will be well positioned to complete the Madsen pre-feasibility study, the ongoing test mining programme, the proactive capital projects under way at the mine site, and the restart and ramp up of the mine, including working capital and corporate requirements.

“We worked closely with our partners to develop a finance package that addresses the balance of the capital required for Madsen, as currently estimated in our detailed internal mine plan, and preserves strong upside from the Madsen Mine for West Red Lake Gold shareholders.”