Wallbridge Mining Company Limited reported that it has commissioned an update to the 2021 mineral resource estimate for its flagship Fenelon Gold ('Fenelon') and Martiniere ('Martiniere') project (the “2023 MRE”). Additionally, Fenelon has undergone a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) by the company.
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In contrast to the less selective large open pit technique utilized in the 2021 MRE, for Fenelon, the 2023 MRE will optimize the resource for a primarily underground bulk mining operation using data from an extra 100,000 m of drilling done since the 2021 MRE.
The 2023 MRE will also include a revised resource for Martiniere, 30 km west of Fenelon, where the company has accomplished an additional 30,000 m of drilling since the 2021 MRE.
The drilling and underground exploration work we have completed at Fenelon since our initial 2021 MRE has increased our confidence in the geometry of the mineralization. We have identified mineralized zones that show continuity over several meters in thickness and tens of meters in strike length, with average grades above three grams per tonne.
Marz Kord, President and CEO, Wallbridge Mining Company Limited
The 2023 MRE, which is anticipated to be finished in the first quarter of 2023, will serve as the basis for a PEA that will evaluate the viability of a primarily underground bulk mining operation at Fenelon. The PEA is expected to be finished by the end of the second quarter of 2023.
Marz Kord states, “This has led us to consider modeling most of the deposit as an underground bulk mineable resource, analogous to other underground bulk mining operations located on the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, rather than the less selective open pit mining approach used in 2021, when drilling density at the project was lower.”
The commencement of a preliminary economic assessment and updated mineral resource estimates represent a major stepping stone in bringing Fenelon closer to production. Assets of this quality and location are increasingly rare and we believe there will be significant opportunities to create shareholder value as we continue to de-risk and advance the projects.
Marz Kord, President and CEO, Wallbridge Mining Company Limited
Marz Kord says, “A bulk underground mining operation at Fenelon has a number of critical advantages over the less selective, deep open-pit/underground approach contemplated in the 2021 MRE. These benefits include lower upfront capital requirements, a smaller surface footprint with significantly less environmental disturbance—an approach which is more favorable to local communities, and a potentially shorter permitting timeline.”
Fenelon is situated 75 km east of the Detour Lake gold mine, with Martiniere 30 km to its west. As a result, it sits in the center of Wallbridge’s strategic land package, which covers around 910 km2 of the most promising terrain on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend in Northern Abitibi, Quebec.
The gold resources at Martiniere and Fenelon have the potential for further improvement. In addition to these known gold resources, the company believes there is a good chance that its expansive prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend land package, which spans 97 km of strike length, may yield new discoveries.
Comparatively to the southern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, where more than 100 million ounces of gold have been produced over a comparable strike distance, the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend is a sizable region that has mostly remained undiscovered.
Source: https://wallbridgemining.com/