North American Palladium Ltd. (fka PALDF)

[JD400]

North American Palladium Announces Major Expansion to Sunday Lake PGM Zone and Best Drilling Results to Date
Apr 29 2019
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TORONTO, April 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North American Palladium Ltd. ("NAP" or “the Company") (TSX:PDL) (OTC PINK:PALDF) is pleased to announce new results from the Sunday Lake exploration project (the “Project”), located 25 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario and 60 km south of the Lac des Iles Mill. The Project is focused on an extensive zone of platinum-group metal (“PGM”) and copper-nickel sulfide mineralization hosted within the lower portions of the Sunday Lake mafic-ultramafic intrusion.

Highlights

Hole SL-19-026, targeting the strongest conductivity anomaly in the western part of the intrusion, returned the highest-grade multi-metre intersection found to date. The main intersection is 41.2 metres with 3.22 g/t Pt, 2.08 g/t Pd and 0.21 g/t Au (5.51 g/t 3E*), 0.57% Cu and 0.19% Ni. Included in this interval is a 15.8 metre section containing 9.11 g/t 3E with 0.88% Cu and 0.24% Ni that, in turn, contains a 8.30 metre sub-interval grading 13.06 g/t 3E, 1.23% Cu and 0.32% Ni.

Hole SL-19-29, a 275 metre step-out from hole SL-19-26, intersected 32.0 metres with 3.35 g/t 3E, including 8.17 metres of 5.44 g/t 3E and 0.51% Cu.

Hole SL-19-25, one of three follow-up holes to mineralization discovered last year in the central part of the intrusion, intersected 14.80 metres with 2.33 g/t 3E and 0.29% Cu. Included in this interval are two separate higher-grade sub-intervals:

2.30 metres with 4.11 g/t 3E and 0.48% Cu, and

1.60 metres with 5.18 g/t 3E and 0.70% Cu.

Hole SL-19-30, also drilled in the central part of the intrusion, intersected 20.61 metres with 1.87 g/t 3E, including a higher-grade sub-interval of 5.50 metres with 3.67 g/t 3E and 0.83% Cu.

Based on new and prior drilling results, the PGM and base metal sulfide mineralization located along the base of the Sunday Lake intrusion (the “SLI”) is modelled as a near-continuous blanket with a north-south extent of approximately 1.5 km and an east-west extent of 900 metres. The mineralization shows thickening and grade improvement along three or more structures inferred from recent geophysical surveys.

*3E = combined Pt, Pd and Au concentrations

“We continue to expand the PGM Zone at Sunday Lake. This is currently our most advanced regional exploration project and represents our best blue sky opportunity and is a key element in our long-term strategy of building an inventory of high-quality PGM assets in the Thunder Bay region. This strategy is anchored by the LDI Mill, which is uniquely positioned to treat ore from new development projects in this part of Ontario. This large facility could help these projects reduce their capital requirements and improve investment returns,” said Jim Gallagher, President and CEO of North American Palladium.

Dr. Dave Peck, Vice-President, Exploration at North American Palladium, adds, “We are encouraged by the higher PGM grades and base metal sulfide contents observed in drill hole SL-19-026 from the newly-discovered western extension of the Sunday Lake PGM mineralization. The new drill results prove the effectiveness of advanced geophysical methods in detecting this mineralization at significant depths. We have continued to identify promising geophysical targets that warrant testing in the next phase of drilling.”

Context for the Current Program

The Company entered into a Definitive Option Agreement (the “Option Agreement”) in June 2017 with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (“Impala”) and Transition Metals Corp. (“Transition”) through a wholly-owned subsidiary. The Option Agreement gives the Company the exclusive right to earn Impala’s 75% interest in the Sunday Lake property, with Transition maintaining a 25% free carried interest through to the completion of a Feasibility Study.

The SLI is part of the Proterozoic Mid-continent Rift magmatic event that also produced the Eagle nickel deposit in Michigan and the Tamarack and Duluth Complex magmatic sulfide deposits in Minnesota. The SLI is an elliptical body having lateral dimensions of ~1 km2 that is entirely encased in older basement rocks. Depths to the top of the SLI vary from ~200 metres in the north to ~600 metres in the south. The thickness of the SLI ranges from <200 metres on the margins to >800 metres in the centre. Drilling completed on the Project prior to the Company’s involvement had delineated a laterally extensive zone of disseminated magmatic sulfide mineralization along the base of the SLI within the eastern part of the intrusion. In 2018, NAP’s first drilling program extended the mineralization into the centre of the SLI. So far in 2019, the Company has further extended the mineralization to the western side of the SLI. The SLI magmatic sulfide mineralization typically comprises several percent of sulfide minerals (pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pentlandite +/- bornite) that are strongly enriched in precious metals, especially platinum and palladium. The new drilling results suggest that the mineralization is a relatively continuous blanket that extends across the length and width of the intrusion. The mineralization is confirmed to thicken to greater than 40 metres in proximity to conductivity anomalies detected by geophysical surveys completed last year. The sulfides are interpreted to have accumulated adjacent to and within three or more discrete feeder faults to the SLI. The bulk of the known mineralization is hosted by plagioclase-bearing peridotite (Marginal Zone) and, in some areas, by overlying plagioclase-free peridotite (Ultramafic Series). The mineralization locally extends into the underlying basement rocks (Quetico Subprovince metasedimentary units) where discrete massive sulfide veins up to ~20 cm in width have been observed.

Given that the mineralization crosses lithological boundaries and is not assignable to any single stratigraphic zone, it was decided to abandon the former name “Marginal Zone.” For the time being, the magmatic sulfide mineralization in the lower part of the SLI and extending into the immediate footwall will be referred to as the “PGM Zone.”

2018 Geophysical Results and Q1 2019 Drilling Results

In mid-April the Company completed its second drilling program at Sunday Lake. Results from the initial program are reported in the March 27, 2018 news release available on the Company’s website. After completion of the initial drill program the Company re-interpreted the 3D geology using both drill hole and geophysical data and performed a surface magnetotelluric (“MT”) survey over the entire SLI that was designed to detect increased conductivity associated with magmatic sulfide mineralization to significant depths. The current drilling program commenced in mid-January and was completed in mid-April. A total of 7,300 metres of diamond drilling was completed in six holes (Figure 1). In addition, borehole electromagnetic (“EM”) surveys were completed for all of the drill holes. The program was designed to explore for higher-grade sulfide mineralization near the lower contact of the intrusion, including any underlying feeder structures. The selection of specific drill targets was guided by geophysical models derived from the most recent MT survey. The survey highlighted three subparallel conductive trends across the interpreted extent of the SLI (Figure 1). The easternmost trend coincides with the eastern part of the PGM Zone that has been the subject of the majority of historical drilling. The central conductivity trend encompasses a drill hole (SL-18-022) designed to test a single line MT anomaly from an orientation survey completed in 2017. This hole intersected 33.20 metres with 2.85 g/t 3E, 0.34% Cu and 0.12% Ni. The westernmost and strongest conductivity trend was not previously tested. The 2019 drilling program included three holes each on the central and western anomalies.

continues here with nice charts

https://www.nap.com/investors/news-releases/news-releases-details/2019/North-American-Palladium-Announces-Major-Expansion-to-Sunday-Lake-PGM-Zone-and-Best-Drilling-Results-to-Date/default.aspx


























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