Wallbridge says evacuation order lifted at Quebec gold project
Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd. [WM-TSX, WLBMF-OTCQB] has released an update on an evacuation order relating to its 100% owned Fenelon Gold Project in Quebec. The company announced on July 2, 2026, that it had temporarily evacuated the camp and suspended drilling and related exploration activities due to the increasing wildland fire danger in the area.
However, the company issued a press release Tuesday stating that the evacuation order has been lifted, allowing it to begin a phased return to normal operations at its Fenelon Gold Project and across its Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend property.
Since mid-July, the Fenelon project site has served as a base of operations for forest protection crews ranging from 35 to 60 firefighters who were actively managing wildfires in the surrounding region. “Thanks to their efforts and improving regional conditions, wildfire activity in the Fenelon area has subsided and is no longer considered a significant risk,” the company said. None of the Fenelon operating facilities or camp were damaged by the wildfires. With conditions improving, forest protection crews have recently demobilized from the site, allowing Wallbridge employees and contractors to begin returning to Fenelon.
Wallbridge holds a contiguous mineral property position, covering 598 square kilometres that extends approximately 82 kilometres along the Detour-Fenelon gold trend. The property is host to the company’s flagship, preliminary economic assessment (PEA) stage Fenelon Gold Project and its earlier stage Martiniere Gold Project, as well as numerous greenfield gold projects.
Wallbridge said it expects drilling and other field exploration activities to resume by the end of August, marking a return to normal exploration operations at Fenelon.
It said the evacuation and temporary suspension of drilling and field activities have shortened the company’s summer exploration season. At the same time, Wallbridge is finalizing the work plan and proposed budget for a pre-feasibility study (PFS) targeted for completion in late 2027 to 2028. In light of these developments, the company said it has revised its drilling priorities for the remainder of 2026.
The company said the revised plan will focus on continuing to ramp up drilling at Fenelon in preparation for a larger-scale infill drilling program supporting the PFS. As the company increases its focus on advancing the Fenelon PFS, the second phase of drilling previously planned at Martiniere has been deferred beyond 2026.
Wallbridge’s most advanced projects, Fenelon gold and Martiniere gold, incorporate a combined 3.05 million ounces of indicated gold resources and 2.35 million ounces of inferred gold resources. Fenelon and Martiniere are located within an 830-square-kilometre exploration land package in the northern Abitibi region of Quebec. Martiniere is located 30 kilometres west of Fenelon.
A 2023 preliminary economic assessment for Detour-Fenelon -foresees average annual gold production of 212,000 ounces over 12.3 years at an all-in-sustaining cost of US$924 an ounce, generating average annual free cash flow of $157 million over the life of the mine.
Wallbridge shares were unchanged on Tuesday at $0.09. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 14 cents and $0.065.
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