TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Explorer Wallbridge Mining has received an updated mineral resource estimate outlining a 26% increase in the contained ounces in the Discovery zone on the Fenelon property, in Quebec, which Wallbridge is in the process of acquiring from Balmoral Resources for C$3.6-million.
TSX- and Frankfurt-listed Wallbridge reported a 90% increase in tonnes in the measured and indicated resource categories, lifting it to 91 100 t grading 12.97 g/t gold, for 38 000 oz of gold.
"We are extremely pleased that the InnovExplo resource estimate has confirmed our own work in terms of tonnes, grade and exploration potential, upon which we based our decision to acquire this very attractive, underground-accessible, high-grade gold property," stated president and CEO Marz Kord.
Wallbridge, which specialises in exploiting small high-grade deposits, advised that a large proportion of the resource was located close to existing underground workings at shallow depth. The bulk of the resource is located in the first 150 m from surface (87% of the tonnes and 91% of the ounces), the company said.
Meanwhile, there were several opportunities to add more resources to the Fenelon property by drilling depth extensions of the ore shoots that originated in the resource area, conducting in-fill drilling on modelled exploration targets currently not included in the resource, and intersecting subparallel mineralised zones in the vicinity of the currently identified zones.
Kord advised that Wallbridge would be moving forward rapidly to complete the acquisition of the Fenelon property and advance permitting. “Our goal is to, quickly after acquisition, dewater the existing workings and commence additional underground exploration, which together with completion of a feasibility study in early 2017, will allow us to rapidly reach a production decision."