Skip to content

Wallbridge Mining ventures into the unexplored

Drilling commences on Sudbury joint venture

The Wallbridge Mining Company is breaking unusually new ground in the Sudbury Basin.

The Sudbury-based junior mining company started another round of drilling on their Parkin Properties, on the northeast edge of the basin, in October.

The site is practically virgin territory compared to nearby areas, according to Joshua Bailey, vice-president of exploration at the Wallbridge Mining Company.

“It hasn't had as much exploration as elsewhere,” said Bailey, adding that “if this project has a fraction of what is elsewhere in the basin, it would be a success.”

This isn't the first drilling in the area for Wallbridge.

They completed promising drilling between 2008 and 2012 as part of a joint venture with Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats), after which they re-purchased Implat's nearly 50 per cent interest in the properties.

In 2015, Wallbridge had four successful drill holes that led to a joint venture agreement with global platinum producer, Lonmin Plc.

Their deal involves Lonmin Plc earning up to 50 per cent interest in the Parkin Properties by spending $11 million over four years.

In 2016, Wallbridge has completed 11,030 metres of drilling that revealed promising results, tripling the extent of known near-surface mineralization.

High-grade nickel, copper, and platinum group metals (PGMs) have been intersected so far.

They are still in the exploration phase, but Bailey said the current drilling marks a move forward for the property.

“It shows potential of what could be there,” he said. “This next program is quite substantial, with twice as much drilling as last year.”

They plan on 20,000 metres of drilling in 2017, which will cost around $3.4 million.

The progress at the Parkin Properties follows other recent successes for Wallbridge.

In October 2015, they wrapped up production at their Broken Hammer mine in Sudbury.

The open-pit mine produced copper and PGMs from 2014 to 2015.

Bailey said the success of Broken Hammer is an indication of the health of the company.

“Broken Hammer was a successful producing mine and demonstrated the capability of bringing projects into production.”

He said exploration is just one part of what they do, and looking at producing properties is a growing priority.

There has been growth outside of Sudbury as well.

“A number of new opportunities closer to production are coming up for acquisition in Northern Ontario and Quebec,” said Bailey.

As they started drilling in Sudbury, Wallbridge completed the purchase of the Fenelon Gold Mine Property in northwestern Quebec.

They anticipate production permits in the second quarter of 2017.

The company began exploration at Fenelon in November that involved a review of historic drilling next to some old mine workings on their 1,052-hectare past producing gold property.

Wallbridge purchased the property from Balmoral Resources for $3.7 million in October.

But Bailey said their main focus remains the Sudbury Basin.

While always on the lookout for growth, stability comes first.

“We hope to expand the size and find new zones,” said Bailey. “But ultimately we hope this is something we can advance and de-risk.”


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.