Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX:WM) (OTCQX:WLBMF)  announced that its 2023 exploration drill program has greatly expanded the footprint of the gold mineralization at its 100%-owned Fenelon gold project. The initial drill results have identified new, near-surface gold mineralization 1 kilometre to the northwest and 2.5 kilometres to the east of the 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate.

Encouraging initial drill results were returned at Target 1 and Target 5, two of the six high-priority grassroots exploration targets located outside the main resource area that were identified as part of the Company’s 2023 exploration program and described in the March 8, 2023, news release. Drilling is continuing with additional results pending.

Attila Péntek, Wallbridge’s Vice President, Exploration, commented:

“The Target 1 intersection, located in a newly-discovered Jeremie Diorite body, has now opened up a new area for future exploration and shows the excellent potential to significantly expand the known extent of the mineralized footprint of our flagship project. The area extending several kilometres east of the Fenelon deposit had been identified as having the right geologic ingredients for gold deposition. Our initial results at Target 5 confirm our exploration thesis here.”

One of two holes drilled at Target 1 intersected 0.96 g/t Au over 21.05 metres, including 3.45 g/t Au over 2.20 metres (hole FA-23-546), starting at a vertical depth of only 40 metres, in a previously unknown offshoot of the Jeremie Diorite located approximately one kilometer northwest of the Fenelon mineral resource. The Jeremie Diorite is a key host rock for gold mineralization in multiple prolific zones at Fenelon.

At Target 5, located approximately two kilometres to the east of the Fenelon deposit, two holes were drilled to follow up on favorable geology and anomalous gold mineralization encountered in historic holes. Hole FA-23-551 intersected a 150-meter-wide corridor beginning at a vertical depth of 100 metres and defined by multiple gold-mineralized silicified shear zones with assay results up to 14.90 g/t Au over 0.50 metres. This corridor is interpreted to represent a splay of the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone which is the main control for gold mineralization along the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend. Follow-up drilling will aim to define the geometry and structural controls of the mineralized zones.

Fenelon Exploration Progress

Exploration drilling over the course of 2022 and 2023 continues to reinforce the district-scale potential at Fenelon and Wallbridge’s surrounding properties. To date in 2023, Wallbridge has completed 16 holes totaling over 11,000 metres of drilling at Fenelon as part of its 2023 exploration program. Assays results have been received and are being released here for three holes.

Wallbridge has also identified and now prioritized for drill testing two additional regional targets near the Fenelon deposit for follow-up testing:

• Target 7, located on the same NW-trending splay of the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone as Target 5.
• Target 8, located to the north of the Fenelon deposit with geophysical characteristics comparable to those of Target 1.

Figure 1. Fenelon Gold Property, Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI)

All figures and a table with drill hole information of recently completed holes are posted on the Company’s website under “Current Program” at https://wallbridgemining.com/our-projects/fenelon-gold/.

Assay QA/QC and Qualified Persons

Drill core samples from the ongoing drill program at Fenelon are cut and bagged either on-site or by contractors and transported to SGS Canada Inc. for analysis. Samples, standards and blanks are included for quality assurance and quality control, were prepared and analyzed at the laboratories. Samples are crushed to 90% less than 2mm. A 1kg riffle split is pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. 50g samples are analyzed by fire assay and AAS or ICP. Samples >10g/t Au are automatically analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish or screen metallic analysis. To test for coarse free gold and additional quality assurance and quality control, Wallbridge requests screen metallic analysis for samples containing visible gold. These and future assay results may vary from time to time due to re-analysis for quality assurance and quality control.

The Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this press release is Lucas Briao Koth, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Project Geologist of Wallbridge.

About Wallbridge Mining

Wallbridge is focused on creating value through the exploration and sustainable development of gold projects along the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend while respecting the environment and communities where it operates.

Wallbridge’s flagship project, Fenelon Gold, is located on the highly prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Property in Québec’s Northern Abitibi region. An updated mineral resource estimate completed in January 2023 yielded significantly improved grades and additional ounces at the 100%-owned Fenelon and Martiniere projects, incorporating 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 km² exploration land package controlled by Wallbridge. The Company believes that these two deposits have good potential for economic development, especially given their proximity to existing hydro-electric power and transportation infrastructure. In addition, Wallbridge believes that the extensive land package is extremely prospective for the discovery of additional gold deposits.

Wallbridge also holds a 19.9% interest in the common shares of Archer Exploration Corp. as a result of the sale of the Company’s portfolio of nickel assets in Ontario and Québec in November of 2022.

Wallbridge will continue to focus on its core Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Property while enabling shareholders to participate in the potential economic upside in Archer.