Wallbridge Mining ventures into the unexplored: drilling commences for Sudbury joint venture.

• Author: Myers, Ella
• Position: SUDBURY

Wallbridge Mining Company is breaking unusually new ground in the Sudbury Basin.

The Sudbury-based junior mining company started another round of drilling on their Parkin Properties, on the northeast edge of the basin, in October.

The site is practically virgin territory compared to nearby areas, according to Joshua Bailey, vice-president of exploration at Wallbridge Mining Company.

"It hasn't had as much exploration as elsewhere," said Bailey, adding that "if this project has a fraction of what is elsewhere in the basin, it would be a success."

This isn't the first drilling in the area for Wallbridge.

They completed promising drilling between 2008 and 2012 as part of a joint venture with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (Implats), after which they re-purchased Implat's nearly 50 per cent interest in the properties.

In 2015, Wallbridge had four successful drill holes that led to a joint venture agreement with global platinum producer, Lonmin Plc.

Their deal involves Lonmin Plc earning up to 50 per cent interest in the Parkin Properties by spending $11 million over four years.

In 2016, Wallbridge completed 11,030 metres of drilling that revealed promising results, tripling the extent of known near-surface mineralization. High-grade nickel, copper, and platinum group metals (PGMs) have been intersected so far.

They are still in the exploration phase, but Bailey said the current drilling marks a move forward for the property.

"It shows potential of what could be there," he said. "This next program is quite substantial, with twice as much drilling as last year."

They plan on 20,000 metres of drilling in 2017, which will cost around $3.4 million.

The progress at the Parkin Properties follows other recent successes for Wallbridge.

In October 2015, they wrapped up production at their Broken Hammer mine in Sudbury. The open-pit mine produced copper and PGMs from 2014 to 2015.

Bailey said the...