Wallbridge drills 42.63 g/t gold over 0.5 metres at Grasset, Quebec
Wallbridge Mining Co. Ltd. [WM-TSX; WLBMF-OTC; WC7-FSE] reported a new round of positive drill results from a regional exploration program on the Detour-Fenelon gold trend, which is targeting the discovery of satellite deposits and new mineralized zones near the company’s Fenelon gold and Martiniere projects in northwestern Quebec.
New gold mineralization, including 42.63 g/t gold over 0.50 metres and 9.98 g/t gold over 0.60 metres, was intercepted on the 100%-owned Grasset property 65 km northwest of Matagami, less than 10 km east of the Fenelon deposit. Refer to company website for complete drill results.
A new gold system was identified in the northeastern portion of the Casault gold property, adjacent to Martiniere.
“Wallbridge’s district-scale property on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend covers an area roughly the same distance as Rouyn-Noranda to Val d’Or, yet it is comparatively underexplored. We continue to see excellent potential for additional gold discoveries, with the opportunity to add to our existing resource base at Fenelon and Martiniere,” said Attila Pentek, Vice President, Exploration. “Approximately 10% of our 2022 exploration budget is dedicated to grassroots exploration on our properties in this district. Initial programs at Casault and Grasset have already delivered some very positive results and we are confident that we can continue to build on this success over the course of the year.”
Between November 2021 and February 2022, Wallbridge carried out exploration drilling 10 km south-east of the Fenelon deposit, to follow-up on the Grasset gold showing, where historic intersections include 1.66 g/t gold over 33 metres, with higher grade sub-intervals, such as 6.15 g/t gold over 4.04 metres.
As reported October 21, 2021, Wallbridge completed a 13-hole drill program totaling 5,300 metres to test grassroots targets on the unexplored northern part of Casault. This area, 1-2 km north of the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone, includes the same assemblage of rocks that hosts the Company’s Martiniere gold deposit.
In addition to 6.85 g/t gold over 2.00 metres in CAS-21-123 previously reported, the drill program successfully identified gold mineralization near the eastern border of the property, toward Martiniere. Drill holes CAS-21-126 to CAS-21-130 all intersected anomalous gold mineralization associated with a volcanic assemblage, a newly discovered ultramafic intrusive complex and the same northwest-southeast structure that is interpreted to control the mineralization intersected in hole CAS-21-123. Structures of this orientation are known to be important conduits for gold at Fenelon, Martiniere, and as reported here, at Grasset and Casault.
A follow-up drill program further testing this newly identified gold mineralized environment will be completed in the second quarter of 2022.
Wallbridge has an option to acquire up to a 65% interest in the 177 km2 Casault property from Midland Exploration Inc. [MD-TSXV]. Casault covers a number of grassroots exploration targets four to 12 km west of Martiniere and 34 to 41 km west of Fenelon. The property encompasses more than 20 km of the SLDZ, which hosts the company’s Martiniere and Fenelon gold deposits and the world-class Detour Lake mine.
An unmanned aerial vehicle geophysical magnetic survey was completed in the first quarter of 2022 over the Harri property, which covers 20 km of the SLDZ between the Fenelon and Martiniere projects and the eastern portion of Casault. Such magnetic data has been invaluable at Fenelon in guiding exploration to recognize gold-bearing and other structures.
Further grassroots exploration programs completed in the first quarter of 2022 or planned for later in the year include: biogeochemical (tree bark) sampling, till sampling, outcrop mapping and prospecting, as well as additional UAV magnetics, all with the aim of providing additional geologic information to better define drill targets and improve discovery success.
Wallbridge’s flagship project, Fenelon Gold, is located on the highly prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend in Northern Abitibi, Quebec. A Mineral Resource Estimate completed in 2021 validated the multi-million-ounce potential of Fenelon as well as Wallbridge’s nearby Martiniere Property, incorporating a combined 2.67 million ounces of indicated gold resources and 1.72 million ounces of inferred gold resources. Fenelon and Martiniere, located within a 910 km2 exploration land package controlled by Wallbridge, have the potential to be developed into mines, and are close to existing power and transportation infrastructure.