Chart: Which countries are falling behind in gold mine production
India tops the global ranking with demand nearly 50 times that of its mined supply.
Wallbridge Mining (TSE: WM) is ramping up exploration drilling at its advanced Fenelon gold project in northern Quebec – adding two new drill rigs for a total of six.
The company is targeting 70,000 to 80,000 metres of drilling this year, with 35,000 metres already completed. The new drills will allow the Wallbridge to accelerate drilling at the Main Gabbro and Area 51 zones at the past-producing project.
Five rigs – four surface and one underground – will conduct large-spaced stepout drilling to define the footprint of the Fenelon gold system, while one will continue to test the Naga Viper, Cayenne and Tabasco zones near the existing mine workings.
Assay results are pending for 23 surface holes and eight underground holes.
Results released earlier this month include 191.9 metres of 0.98 g/t gold (including 42.8 metres of 2.43 g/t gold) in the Area 51 corridor, and 10.6 metres of 5.5 g/t gold at the Tabasco zone, located between Area 51 and the mine workings. Drilling has shown good continuity of mineralization over hundreds of metres at Area 51.
After acquiring Fenelon in 2016, Wallbridge completed a positive prefeasibility study on the high-grade Main Gabbro zone. Since then the company has completed a 35,000-tonne bulk sample and discovered a new gold system – Area 51 – through exploration drilling.
Wallbridge is aiming to make a production decision for the Main Gabbro zone at Fenelon in 2020.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
