Wallbridge Mining Company Limited has lifted the site evacuation order at its Fenelon Gold Project in Quebec, allowing employees and contractors to begin a phased return to normal operations following the subsidence of regional wildfires.

The evacuation order had been issued on July 1, 2026, by SOPFEU and Quebec’s Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts. Throughout the shutdown, the Fenelon site served as a base of operations for a SOPFEU firefighting crew ranging from 35 to 60 personnel. Wallbridge reported that none of the operating facilities or the camp were damaged, and the firefighting crew has now demobilized.

With helicopter access restrictions removed and four employees having returned earlier in the month to resume core logging and sample shipments, Wallbridge expects drilling and field exploration to resume by the end of August 2026.

“The health and safety of our employees and contractors remains our highest priority, and we are extremely grateful to the firefighters, SOPFEU and the Government of Québec for their tireless efforts to manage and control the wildfires in the region,” commented Brian Penny, Chief Executive Officer of Wallbridge. “We were pleased to be able to provide accommodations and support for the firefighters at the Fenelon camp and will continue to assist SOPFEU in any way we can.”

— Brian Penny, Chief Executive Officer

The temporary suspension and evacuation shortened the company’s summer exploration season. Wallbridge has consequently revised its 2026 drilling priorities, deferring a planned second phase of drilling at Martiniere beyond 2026. The updated program will instead focus on ramping up drilling at Fenelon to support an upcoming larger-scale infill program, while also completing previously planned exploration at Casault and Grasset.

The work forms part of preparations for a pre-feasibility study targeted for completion in late 2027 or early 2028. That study is fully funded following a C$56 million private placement closed in May 2026 with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Waratah Capital Advisors Limited. An updated mineral resource estimate completed in January 2023 incorporated a combined 3.05 million ounces of indicated gold resources and 2.35 million ounces of inferred gold resources across the Fenelon and Martiniere properties.

Following a preliminary economic assessment in June 2023 that outlined a 12.3-year mine life and average annual production of 212,000 ounces of gold, Wallbridge is now finalizing the work plan and budget for the pre-feasibility study.

Read the full announcement: Wallbridge Provides Update, Evacuation Order at Fenelon Lifted