North American Palladium Ltd. (fka PALDF)

[JD400]

North American Palladium Provides Update on Greenfields Exploration

Apr 03 2018


TORONTO, April 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North American Palladium Ltd. ("NAP" or the "Company") (TSX:PDL) OTC PINK:PALDF provided an update on its Greenfields exploration activities, including a recently completed drilling program in the unexplored northern part of the Legris Lake property, known as the Stonefish Lake target. The Legris Lake property hosts the largest known Lac des Iles (“LDI”) type gabbroic complex in the immediate vicinity of the minesite.

Legris Lake Drilling Results

Magmatic sulfide mineralization, locally exceeding core lengths of 20 metres and having anomalous copper, nickel and PGM concentrations, was intersected in three drill holes including 15.7 metres averaging 0.33% Cu and 0.23 g/t Pt + Pd + Au (“3E”) in hole 18-LL-001.
Drilling targeted previously untested magnetic and electromagnetic anomalies that constitute the Stonefish Lake target, which is situated within a 5 km long gap between the Legris Lake mafic complex and the Lac des Iles mafic complex.
The magmatic sulfide mineralization is hosted in previously unrecognized mafic intrusive bodies that have geochemical and mineralogical similarities to rock types in the LDI complex.
These drilling results, combined with geophysical survey data, open up a new exploration corridor directly adjoining the southeastern side of the LDI mine property.

“The recent drilling results at Legris Lake highlight the significant potential to make new discoveries in our Greenfields exploration areas. We are particularly excited about the first discovery of LDI-type intrusive rocks between the LDI Complex and the Legris Lake Complex, which opens up a new target area within a short distance from our mine and mill. We look forward to continuing our investment in our Greenfields properties as part of our long-term exploration strategy to fill the LDI mill for many years to come,” said Jim Gallagher, President and CEO of North American Palladium.

“The discovery of LDI-type, sulfide-bearing mafic intrusive rocks with local base metal and platinum-group metal enrichment in the previously untested northern part of the Legris Lake property is an encouraging development. The results are particularly positive because the drilling was exclusively guided by geophysical data given that the target rocks are not exposed at surface. We now believe that the entire 5 km gap between the LDI and Legris Lake complexes contains prospective LDI-type gabbroic intrusions,” said Dr. Dave Peck, North American Palladium’s Vice-President, Exploration.

Greenfields Exploration Activities

The Company resumed Greenfields exploration drilling last October in the northern part of the Legris Lake property, located 5 km southeast of the LDI mine and mill (Figure 1). The program was focused on testing recently recognized electromagnetic (“EM”) anomalies and two elongate remanent magnetic anomalies (Figure 2) that are collectively referred to as the Stonefish Lake target. These anomalies were detected through approximately 100 metres of flat-lying Proterozoic diabase by modeling of airborne geophysical data derived from the Company’s 2013 versatile time domain (“VTEM”) helicopter-borne magnetic-EM survey. Current interest in the remanent magnetic anomalies reflects the fact that the majority of the palladium resources at LDI are hosted by mafic intrusive rocks having similar, strong remanent magnetism.

A total of 3,879 metres of surface drilling in nine holes was completed during the October 2017 – March 2018 exploration program on the Stonefish Lake target. Eight of the holes were specifically designed to intersect EM anomalies based on the VTEM survey (Figure 2). One hole (17-LL-004) was designed to intersect a remanent magnetic anomaly (Figure 2). Four of the nine holes intersected mafic intrusive rocks of interpreted Archean age and three of these holes intersected disseminated to semi-massive magmatic sulfide mineralization over core lengths of <1m to >20m.

The mafic intrusive rocks have geochemical and mineralogical similarities to the nearby South LDI Complex and are interpreted to be part of the same magmatic event. If correct, this represents the first discovery of LDI-type intrusive rocks within the approximately 5 km gap between the South LDI Complex and the Legris Lake Complex (Figure 1). The magmatic sulfide mineralization encountered to date shows some base metal and PGE-Au enrichment with the best results shown in the table below. Three of the remaining holes that targeted the Stonefish Lake EM anomalies intersected massive pyrite +/- pyrrhotite units up to several metres in thickness that are hosted by predominantly mafic metavolcanic rocks. Final analytical results are not yet available for drill holes 18-LL-002 to 18-LL-005.

TABLE 1.....continues

You can read the original version of this Press Release here.

http://www.nap.com/investors/news-releases/news-releases-details/2018/North-American-Palladium-Provides-Update-on-Greenfields-Exploration/default.aspx