Wesdome Announces 2017 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Production Results; Provides 2018 Guidance

TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX:WDO) (“Wesdome” or the “Company”) today announces fourth quarter (“Q4”) and full year 2017 production results and 2018 guidance.

Production from the Eagle River Complex finished strongly in Q4 2017 at 15,797 ounces of gold, representing an increase of 33% from the same period last year.  Full year 2017 production of 58,980 ounces of gold as compared to 47,737 ounces of gold production of fiscal 2016 represents a 24% increase year on year.    

Notes:
^1.    Numbers may not add due to rounding.
^2.    Average realized price per ounce is a non-GAAP measure and is calculated by dividing the reported revenue from gold sales by the number of ounces sold for a given period.

At Kiena, the initial 509 metres of an exploration ramp was developed in 2017, and the exploration drilling of the Kiena Deep Zone is ongoing with two drills. To date the drilling platform provided by the ramp development has had the desired result with all holes being drilled to depth and on target.

2018 Guidance

¹    Operating cost per ounce and All-in sustaining cost per ounce are non-GAAP measures, please reference the Company’s management discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2017 filed on SEDAR for their calculations.

Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO commented, “We are very pleased to have exceeded the top end of our guidance by nearly 1,000 ounces.  Looking back to 2017 we see a trend of strong production results emerging, based on excellent grades from the Eagle River Mine. The fourth quarter was a great finish to the year, having our best quarter of 2017 at nearly 15,800 ounces produced.”

“The Eagle River operations are in good shape as we enter 2018.  The fresh air raise is expected to be commissioned in Q1 2018 allowing for ventilation improvements in the underground mine, which will translate into increased production and exploration flexibility. Gold production is expected to be higher in the second half of the year, with approximately 30,000 ounces expected in H1 2018 and approximately 35,000 ounces in H2.  Based upon our improved 2018 production, operating and all-in sustaining costs are expected to decrease by up to 10% respective to 2017 estimates.”

2018 Exploration Program

The Company will continue its ongoing aggressive and focused exploration program during 2018 to follow-up on exploration successes in 2017 at both the Eagle River Mine in Wawa, Ontario and the Kiena Complex in Val d'Or, Quebec.

At the Eagle River Mine, the Company is continuing to develop and explore two parallel zones, the No. 7 and 300 zones that during 2017 returned strong grades, longer strike lengths with greater continuity, and greater than average ore widths. Continued drilling of 303 East zone has now traced the structure from 750 metre depth to 1,000 metre depth, and remains open up and down plunge and a focus for 2018 drilling. Additionally, a limited surface drilling program will be completed to explore for additional zones along these structures within the relatively untested areas within the eastern portion of the mine diorite that will be better targeted with an updated 3D geologic model.

At the Kiena Complex, the Company is continuing to develop a ramp to the 1100 metre level in order to provide enhanced drill coverage of the Kiena Deep discovery, which remains open at depth and along strike. The ramp is expected to be fully completed in Q1 2018 and drilling to be completed in Q4 and a resource estimate to follow. Results will be released as drilling continues.

Previous results support the presence of at least two multi zone centers of mineralization that remain open to depth and along strike, including 1) High-grade quartz veins in basalt centered at 1,100 metres depth (Upper Quartz Vein Zone), and 2) High-grade albitized stockwork vein-breccia systems centered at 1,200–1,300 metre depths (Lower Stockwork Zone).

Additionally, limited underground drilling at Kiena will focus on drilling other prospective targets including the VC and S50 Zones, which are located close to existing workings, open at depth, and demonstrate near-term development potential. A limited surface exploration program will be completed on surface to better define known zones of mineralization and follow-up on any targets defined from an updated airborne magnetic survey.

2018 Exploration Drilling Summary

Note: * includes 25,000m definition drilling

Technical Disclosure

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

ABOUT WESDOME
Wesdome Gold Mines is in its 29^th year of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Eagle River Complex in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold from two mines, the Eagle River Underground Mine and the Mishi Open pit, from a central mill. Wesdome is actively exploring its brownfields asset, the Kiena Complex in Val d’Or, Quebec. The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930 metre shaft and 2,000 tonne per day mill. The Company has further upside at its Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is being explored and evaluated to be developed in the appropriate gold price environment.  The Company has approximately 130 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WDO.”

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