Wallbridge Mining hopes to get `lucky'
By Rob O'Flanagan/THE SUDBURY STAR
There is a "Klondike element" to the heated exploration activity going
on in the Sudbury mining district, says the president of one of the area's
most active junior mining companies.
But Wayne Whymark of Wallbridge Mining Company says his
business plan is a long-term one, and although record prices for
platinum-group metals are attractive, the company's 2001 goal is to
find a full complement of valuable metals.
"We hope to make some good discoveries around Sudbury this year,"
Whymark said from his Lively office, indicating that the company will
spend about $4 million on five separate drilling programs.
That is the largest cash outlay by a junior company in the area this year,
he said.
For the most part, Wallbridge is concentrating on the traditional
geological environment that has fed Inco and Falconbridge smelters for
years.
Whymark says there are high-value, large-scale deposits in the
Sudbury Basin, and some of them show PGM-enriched mineralization.
"The fact that platinum-group elements are at record prices doesn't
hurt us," said Whymark. "It makes what we are doing more interesting.
"But, unlike other companies that are moving into the area, we're not
here for the instant PGM exploration. When the prices go up,
everybody chases the element. That's not the way we've set our
company up.
"Ours is a long-term business plan."
Wallbridge is involved in a number of joint ventures with Falconbridge
Ltd., including the Parkin, Mirage, Frost Lake and Wisner properties. |
