Wesdome to commence year-round production at Mishi Mine

Jul. 12, 2011 (Canada NewsWire Group) --

WAWA, ON, July 12, 2011 /CNW/ - Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd (WDO: TSX) ("Wesdome" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the progress of the development program at its wholly-owned Mishi Pit project, near the Eagle River Mill.

Following the filing of the Closure Plan Amendment with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, the Mishi Pit project team initiated pit de-watering, brush clearing and waste pad construction activities on July 11, 2011.  Further pre-stripping will commence shortly.

The Mishi mine is being developed for an initial 5-year plan to supplement the production from the Eagle River mine (see press release Nov. 29, 2010).  This surface mining operation is located only 2.0 kilometres from the Eagle River Mill and is expected to produce at an average of 1,000 ounces per month over this time frame. There is significant potential to increase this projected mine life and drilling is currently underway on the immediate extensions of the deposit.

Highlights of the project as currently planned include:

• 709,000t at 2.55 g/t for 52,952 ounces over 5 years*
• Operating costs of $CDN 914/ounce over 5 years
• Low capital costs of $CDN 1.3 million and $CDN 0.5 million in sustaining capital costs
• Potential to expand resources with further drilling
• Potential to increase production rates going forward

Donovan Pollitt, CEO, comments "We are very excited to be proceeding with the Mishi Pit on a full-time basis.  We believe the economics of this project are compelling at current gold prices and could grow our production profile as soon as the fourth quarter of 2011. It is important to note that our five-year mining scenario will involve processing about 710,000 tonnes of ore, which is a fraction of the currently estimated resources.  We see excellent expansion potential for this asset going forward."

*The appended relevant tables and graphs demonstrating the proposed production schedule and economic sensitivities are extracted from a 43-101 Prefeasibility Study Technical Report completed by InnovExplo Inc., an independent consulting firm from Val d'Or, Quebec.  The Prefeasibility study results are available at www.sedar.com and are summarized in a Press Release dated November 29, 2010 available at www.wesdome.com.  The Mineral Reserves estimate is summarized below.

* Independent Qualified Person as per National Instrument 43-101 is Nathalie Gauthier, P.Eng., Innovexplo Inc. Val d'Or, Quebec.
* CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Reserves.
* The Mineral Reserves are contained within the stated Mineral Resources.
* Numbers may be subject to rounding errors.

Technical information in this release has been reviewed by George Mannard, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration and by Nathalie Gauthier, P.Eng., senior engineer of InnovExplo Inc.

ABOUT WESDOME

Wesdome is an established Canadian gold producer with wholly-owned mining and milling complexes located in Wawa, Ontario and Val d'Or, Québec.  Wesdome has been producing gold continually for 22 years on an unhedged basis and to date has produced in excess of 1.2 million ounces.  The Company has 101.9 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WDO".

This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating performance of the Company and its projects. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances, management's estimates or opinions should change, except as required by securities legislation. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

HIGHLIGHTS OF PREFEASIBILITY STUDY   (all figures expressed in $CDN)

PROPOSED PRODUCTION SCHEDULE