Wallbridge mining.

• Author: Migneault, Jonathan
• Position: NEWS

Sudbury-based junior miner Wallbridge Mining Company expects to have its first mine. the Broken Hammer project, in production by the end of June.

Established in 1996 to explore and develop platinum group metals, copper and nickel mineral projects in the Sudbury basin, Wallbridge has since become Sudbury's third largest mining property landholder.

Only mining giants Vale and Glencore Xstrata Plc own more mining properties in the Sudbury basin.

Wallbridge expects to extract around 195,000 tonnes of in-pit copper, nickel and platinum group elements from its open-pit mine at Broken Hammer.

Sudbury contractor William Day Construction Ltd., will handle construction of the mine, and the ore will be transported to Northern Sun's Redstone facility in Timmins, where it will be processed.

Marz Kord, Wallbridge's president and CEO, said once the mine is in full production, trucks will transport 800 tonnes of ore per day to Timmins.

"It's actually a whole lot less than what is transported in Sudbury from various mines to the mill," Kord said.

"This is not going to be a company-maker," he added. "Broken Hammer is only a one-year operation."

The company has estimated the net value of the Broken Hammer project to be around $6 million. After costs, that value is adjusted to $5 million.

Royalty company Callinan Royalties provided Wallbridge with $2 million in capital to kick-start the project.

Broken Hammer's modest revenues will allow Wallbridge to expand its exploration projects in the Sudbury basin. Thanks to a number of joint ventures with larger mining companies, Wallbridge has $5.1-million pooled for exploration with its drilling program.

The Broken Hammer project, said Kord, will also give the company valuable experience moving from exploration to mine production. "We are certainly very optimistic that there is more to be discovered in Sudbury;" Kord said.

The Broken Hammer project, he said, could potentially be expanded at depth and to the west.

The open-pit mine sits at the centre of a 10-kilometre long strike length along Wall-bridge's Wisner property.

Platinum group elements represent about 40 per cent of the mine's ore value, and copper represents an additional 30 per cent of the value. Platinum group elements, which primarily include platinum and palladium, are important components for catalytic converters in vehicles and fuel cells.

Joshua Bailey, Wallbriclge's vice-president of exploration, said he estimates around 20 million ounces of...