Wallbridge 2024 Drilling Program to Focus on Upgrading Gold Resources at Martiniere and Fenelon as well as Grassroots Exploration

TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX: WM, OTCQX: WLBMF) (“Wallbridge” or the “Company”) today announced a fully-funded 2024 exploration program that prioritizes upgrading gold resources at Martiniere Gold (“Martiniere”) and Fenelon Gold (“Fenelon”), as well as the testing of priority grassroots exploration targets on the Company’s extensive and highly-prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Property (the “Property”) in Northern Abitibi, Quebec.

Highlights of 2024 Program

• Drilling program of 23,000 metres, including:
  • 13,000 metres of resource and exploration drilling at Martiniere
  • 5,000 metres of resource and exploration drilling at Fenelon, and
  • 5,000 metres allocated to grassroots exploration drilling elsewhere on the Property.
• Continuing technical studies to optimize the economics for a combined Fenelon/Martiniere Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”).
• Exploration costs are fully-funded with cash balance of approximately $29.8 million at year-end 2023.

“Based on the 2023 PEA, Fenelon alone has the potential to produce 200,000 ounces of gold annually for 12 years, but we see this as only the beginning of the story. Martiniere’s promising geology and proximity to Fenelon may offer economic synergies which we need to fully evaluate in preparation for a combined Fenelon/Martiniere PEA by early 2026. At the same time, we recognize that the rest of our 830 square kilometre land package has also tremendous potential for discovery. As such, we will continue to test exploration targets at Fenelon and elsewhere on our dominant property position on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend,” said Brian Penny, Interim President & CEO of the Company.

“Our main objective in 2024 is to advance and de-risk Martiniere and test a number of targets within or near the Fenelon deposit footprint, with the primary objective of finding additional near surface gold mineralization to potentially improve the economics of the project. Regionally, on our extensive underexplored land package, we will continue to advance our grassroots exploration targets and test the most compelling drill-ready targets in search for new discoveries,” added Attila Péntek, Vice President Exploration.