North American Palladium Ltd. Discovers a New High Grade Zone at Depth
Trading Symbol TSE - PDL
AMEX - PAL
Website: www.napalladium.com
Highlights
----------
- New High Grade Zone discovered to a depth of 903 metres over a strike
length of 300 metres and remains open in all directions.
- New High Grade Zone contains a 54 metre intercept grading 5.44 g/tonne
palladium including 10.5 metres grading 10.32 g/tonne palladium.
- Strike length of Main High Grade Zone extended to 390 metres and
remains open to the north and at depth
TORONTO, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - North American Palladium Ltd. is pleased to
announce that deep core drilling at the Company's Lac des Iles property has
resulted in the discovery of a new high grade zone. From May 10, 2001 to
August 15, 2001 three diamond drill rigs completed 17 holes (15,553 metres)
and extended 12 previously drilled holes (2,871 metres). This drilling was
focused on the down plunge extension of the Main High Grade Zone (previously
referred to as the "High-Grade Shear Ore") and the newly discovered Offset
High Grade Zone below 560 metres (Figures 1&2).
The Offset High Grade Zone appears beneath a recently discovered fault
and is offset approximately 250 metres west of the Main High Grade Zone. The
Offset High Grade Zone has been traced from a vertical depth of 560 metres to
903 metres and has been drilled over a 300 metre strike length. This zone not
only remains open to the south and at depth, but also towards surface beneath
the fault (Figure 3). Movement on the fault is interpreted to be oblique
normal, resulting in displacement of the Roby Zone towards surface. In the
Offset High Grade Zone, hole 01-052 contained 54 metres grading 5.44 g/tonne
palladium which includes a 10.5 metre intercept grading 10.32 g/tonne
palladium. In addition hole 01-020 contains 13.3 metres grading 11.19 g/tonne
palladium and hole 01-059 contains 12.90 metres grading 8.69 g/tonne
palladium.
The Main High Grade Zone strike length has been extended to 390 metres,
and as seen on the attached longitudinal section (Figure 4), it is cut-off by
the fault at depths ranging from 390 metres to the south to 625 metres to the
north but remains open to the north and down plunge. In the Main High Grade
Zone hole 01-055 contains 15 metres grading 7.88 g/tonne palladium and hole 01-
056 contains 9 metres grading 11.87 g/tonne palladium.
These results support the possibility of an underground mining operation
below the ultimate pit depth of 400 metres. A structural analysis will be
conducted to better understand the nature of the faulting followed by a
resource estimate. Additional drilling will be required from surface to
determine the full extent of both High Grade Zones and engineering studies
will be required to assess the underground mining potential.
In 1999 and 2000 ore definition drilling delineated the Main High Grade
Zone to a depth of 550 metres and 6 deep step-out holes intersected the zone
at a depth of 620 metres. A provisional geological interpretation based on the
deep drilling indicated potential faulting at depth with a possible
displacement of the Roby Zone. Initial drill results from hole 01-007 in April
2001 provided further evidence of a displacement. The 17 holes drilled as part
of this program confirmed that the High Grade Zone was displaced an average of
250 metres to the west of the existing High Grade Zone beneath an identified
fault. The displaced zone beneath the fault is referred to as the Offset High
Grade Zone. As a result of this information, 12 holes previously drilled in
2000 and 2001 were extended to intercept the Offset High Grade Zone. In total,
20 holes intersected the High Grade Zone, both above (Main High Grade Zone)
and below (Offset High Grade Zone) the fault. Figure 2 illustrates three of
these holes intersecting both zones. The early detection of the offset led to
the extension of pre-existing drill holes and ultimately the intersection of
the High Grade Zone twice in 20 of these holes. This reduced exploration
expenses significantly while permitting the Company to achieve its exploration
goals for 2001.
The focus of the exploration program for the remainder of 2001 will shift
to the Breccia Ore in the southwestern extension of the Roby Zone. Near
surface drilling will be conducted up to a depth of 500 metres in an attempt
to delineate an additional near surface palladium resource.
Mr. M.J. Lavigne, Vice-President, Exploration for the Company, supervised
the 2001 exploration program. The samples were prepared by ALS Chemex in the
Thunder Bay facility and assayed at its laboratory in Vancouver. ALS Chemex
uses standard fire assay procedures to produce a precious metal bead and
analyzes the bead by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to
determine the palladium, platinum and gold content. Copper and nickel are
determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-
AES). Accurassay Laboratories of Thunder Bay assayed selected duplicate
samples.
North American Palladium will host a conference call on Thursday,
September 27, 2001 at 10:00 Eastern Time to discuss the exploration results.
Keith Minty, President and Chief Executive Officer and Maurice Lavigne, Vice
President-Exploration will host the conference call. The conference call can
be listened to by dialing (416) 641-6656 in Toronto and 1-800-379-4140
elsewhere in North America. The rebroadcast number is (416) 626-4100 and the
pass code is 19780149 (pound key).
<<
SELECTED MINERALIZED INTERSECTIONS
PHASE 2 - 2001 DRILL RESULTS
Main High Grade Zone
--------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole From To Interval Palladium Platinum Gold
ID (metres) (metres) (metres) (g/tonne) (g/tonne) (g/tonne)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-006 642.00 652.00 10.00 5.72 0.22 0.03
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-050 664.10 675.00 10.90 3.91 0.29 0.08
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-055 654.00 669.00 15.00 7.88 0.41 0.53
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 654.00 663.00 9.00 11.00 0.54 0.59
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 657.00 660.00 3.00 16.50 0.67 1.26
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-056 684.00 693.00 9.00 11.87 0.53 0.51
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 684.00 690.00 6.00 15.25 0.61 0.31
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-059 651.00 660.00 9.00 4.02 0.23 0.07
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-063 633.00 636.00 3.00 3.90 0.14 0.05
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-064 658.75 670.50 11.75 2.57 0.20 0.21
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-065 702.00 708.00 6.00 3.15 0.25 0.11
-------------------------------------------------------------------
and 727.50 735.00 7.50 3.16 0.23 0.04
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-069 600.00 606.00 6.00 4.50 0.26 0.14
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-070 699.00 705.00 6.00 4.10 0.19 0.03
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-074 426.00 438.00 12.00 6.17 0.37 0.14
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 426.00 429.00 3.00 16.35 0.84 0.12
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-075 463.00 480.00 17.00 4.21 0.22 0.08
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 468.00 474.00 6.00 7.68 0.33 0.04
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-076 486.00 498.00 12.00 4.75 0.26 0.07
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 489.00 492.00 3.00 8.80 0.56 0.10
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
True Vertical
Hole From To Interval Copper Nickel Width Depth Remarks
ID (metres)(metres)(metres) % % (metres)(metres)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-006 642.00 652.00 10.00 0.00 0.04 9.0 516.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-050 664.10 675.00 10.90 0.05 0.08 10.0 540.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-055 654.00 669.00 15.00 0.05 0.10 12.0 545.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 654.00 663.00 9.00 0.06 0.12 7.2 540.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 657.00 660.00 3.00 0.10 0.19 2.4 541.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-056 684.00 693.00 9.00 0.04 0.09 8.5 597.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 684.00 690.00 6.00 0.04 0.07 5.7 596.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-059 651.00 660.00 9.00 0.01 0.04 7.5 558.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-063 633.00 636.00 3.00 0.02 0.05 2.5 496.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-064 658.75 670.50 11.75 0.05 0.05 11.0 550.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-065 702.00 708.00 6.00 0.00 0.04 5.0 623.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and 727.50 735.00 7.50 0.00 0.03 6.5 647.00 Breccia Ore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-069 600.00 606.00 6.00 0.02 0.04 5.0 507.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-070 699.00 705.00 6.00 0.00 0.04 5.5 616.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-074 426.00 438.00 12.00 0.01 0.05 10.0 404.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 426.00 429.00 3.00 0.00 0.04 2.5 397.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-075 463.00 480.00 17.00 0.00 0.04 14.5 457.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 468.00 474.00 6.00 0.00 0.04 5.1 452.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-076 486.00 498.00 12.00 0.01 0.04 8.5 493.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 489.00 492.00 3.00 0.01 0.06 2.1 483.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Offset High Grade Zone
----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole From To Interval Palladium Platinum Gold
ID (metres) (metres) (metres) (g/tonne) (g/tonne) (g/tonne)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-008 939.90 969.00 29.10 4.98 0.32 0.37
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-020 906.00 942.00 36.00 6.53 0.40 0.50
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 916.70 930.00 13.30 11.19 0.53 0.51
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 919.50 924.00 4.50 15.37 0.59 0.48
-------------------------------------------------------------------
and 1008.00 1017.00 9.00 3.94 0.44 0.51
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-047 1000.10 1019.30 19.20 5.08 0.35 0.36
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1002.20 1007.10 4.90 8.00 0.48 0.22
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1014.50 1017.00 2.50 6.52 0.52 0.90
-------------------------------------------------------------------
and 1062.00 1070.60 8.60 4.27 0.36 0.11
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1069.00 1070.60 1.60 10.95 0.73 0.16
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-050 916.50 951.00 34.50 5.55 0.33 0.37
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 919.50 924.00 4.50 10.47 0.52 0.63
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 945.00 948.00 3.00 9.80 0.66 1.03
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-052 973.50 1027.50 54.00 5.44 0.37 0.41
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 973.50 984.00 10.50 10.32 0.68 0.82
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1020.00 1026.00 6.00 8.50 0.59 0.36
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-055 932.70 979.50 46.80 4.87 0.31 0.27
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 934.50 936.00 1.50 9.30 0.50 0.34
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 948.00 966.00 18.00 8.41 0.48 0.47
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 960.00 963.00 3.00 11.25 0.50 0.28
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-056 1001.95 1014.00 12.05 5.35 0.37 0.29
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1003.50 1008.50 5.00 10.16 0.68 0.37
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-059 944.10 957.00 12.90 8.69 0.51 0.31
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 946.00 951.00 5.00 12.98 0.68 0.47
-------------------------------------------------------------------
01-065 898.75 912.00 13.25 6.41 0.44 0.42
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 898.75 903.00 4.25 10.47 0.72 0.69
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
True Vertical
Hole From To Interval Copper Nickel Width Depth Remarks
ID (metres)(metres)(metres) % % (metres)(metres)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-008 939.90 969.00 29.10 0.11 0.14 25.5 770.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-020 906.00 942.00 36.00 0.14 0.19 29.5 743.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 916.70 930.00 13.30 0.12 0.17 10.9 736.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 919.50 924.00 4.50 0.14 0.18 3.7 730.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and 1008.00 1017.00 9.00 0.22 0.20 7.5 794.00 Breccia Ore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-047 1000.10 1019.30 19.20 0.10 0.11 16.5 850.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1002.20 1007.10 4.90 0.04 0.08 4.2 837.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1014.50 1017.00 2.50 0.22 0.21 2.1 850.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and 1062.00 1070.60 8.60 0.12 0.24 7.5 866.00 Breccia Ore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1069.00 1070.60 1.60 0.36 0.85 1.4 866.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-050 916.50 951.00 34.50 0.09 0.12 29.0 758.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 919.50 924.00 4.50 0.14 0.21 3.8 738.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 945.00 948.00 3.00 0.16 0.20 2.5 755.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-052 973.50 1027.50 54.00 0.08 0.12 50.5 886.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 973.50 984.00 10.50 0.12 0.16 9.8 849.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1020.00 1026.00 6.00 0.10 0.16 5.6 885.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-055 932.70 979.50 46.80 0.08 0.10 43.5 803.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 934.50 936.00 1.50 0.04 0.08 1.4 757.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 948.00 966.00 18.00 0.08 0.12 16.7 793.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 960.00 963.00 3.00 0.04 0.14 2.8 791.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-056 1001.95 1014.00 12.05 0.08 0.09 11.0 874.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1003.50 1008.50 5.00 0.08 0.12 4.6 870.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-059 944.10 957.00 12.90 0.04 0.08 11.5 799.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 946.00 951.00 5.00 0.06 0.09 4.5 792.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
01-065 898.75 912.00 13.25 0.04 0.08 10.0 804.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 898.75 903.00 4.25 0.09 0.09 3.2 797.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Offset High Grade Zone (data from extended holes from previous drilling)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole From To Interval Palladium Platinum Gold
ID (metres) (metres) (metres) (g/tonne) (g/tonne) (g/tonne)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-126 728.33 780.60 52.27 5.01 0.38 0.26
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 730.18 735.00 4.82 12.26 0.65 0.44
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 762.10 765.05 2.95 9.37 0.78 0.65
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-127 831.00 837.00 6.00 5.25 0.34 0.57
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 831.00 834.00 3.00 8.00 0.55 0.91
-------------------------------------------------------------------
and 867.00 873.00 6.00 3.35 0.19 0.07
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-149 732.00 760.70 28.70 3.32 0.27 0.17
-------------------------------------------------------------------
and 835.50 843.00 7.50 3.84 0.29 0.13
-------------------------------------------------------------------
and 865.50 871.50 6.00 3.33 0.32 0.29
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-150 861.25 903.00 41.75 4.81 0.33 0.29
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 862.95 865.50 2.55 8.85 0.56 0.63
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 878.45 890.10 11.65 8.04 0.49 0.47
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 884.00 886.50 2.50 11.60 0.61 0.42
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-204 1122.70 1146.00 23.30 4.07 0.28 0.06
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-205 1094.70 1134.00 39.30 5.88 0.35 0.35
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1094.70 1104.00 9.30 11.50 0.64 0.62
-------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1125.00 1128.00 3.00 10.90 0.54 0.36
-------------------------------------------------------------------
00-251 855.00 867.40 12.40 3.54 0.46 0.33
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
True Vertical
Hole From To Interval Copper Nickel Width Depth Remarks
ID (metres)(metres)(metres) % % (metres)(metres)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-126 728.33 780.60 52.27 0.10 0.09 44.1 580.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 730.18 735.00 4.82 0.12 0.10 4.1 550.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 762.10 765.05 2.95 0.22 0.25 2.5 569.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-127 831.00 837.00 6.00 0.10 0.13 5.2 620.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 831.00 834.00 3.00 0.17 0.19 2.4 618.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and 867.00 873.00 6.00 0.03 0.08 5.2 637.00 Breccia Ore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-149 732.00 760.70 28.70 0.14 0.15 24.0 577.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and 835.50 843.00 7.50 0.06 0.09 6.2 731.00 Breccia Ore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and 865.50 871.50 6.00 0.14 0.12 5.1 659.00 Breccia Ore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-150 861.25 903.00 41.75 0.07 0.10 38.0 667.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 862.95 865.50 2.55 0.16 0.18 2.3 640.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 878.45 890.10 11.65 0.10 0.13 10.6 659.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 884.00 886.50 2.50 0.08 0.14 2.3 655.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-204 1122.70 1146.00 23.30 0.02 0.06 21.5 903.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-205 1094.70 1134.00 39.30 0.07 0.11 36.5 882.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1094.70 1104.00 9.30 0.08 0.13 8.6 861.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
incl 1125.00 1128.00 3.00 0.09 0.17 2.8 880.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
00-251 855.00 867.40 12.40 0.16 0.14 11.0 592.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
Figures 1-4 may be viewed with this press release posted at
www.napalladium.com.
North American Palladium's Lac des Iles Mine is Canada's only primary
producer of platinum group metals and is one of the largest open pit bulk
mineable palladium reserves in the world. Palladium use in the auto industry
continues to be an important component in controlling exhaust emissions as
mandated by more stringent hydrocarbon emissions standards for cars,
particularly in the United States, Europe and Japan.
Forward-Looking Statements - Some statements contained in this release
are forward-looking and, therefore, involve uncertainties or risks that
could cause actual results to differ materially. Such forward-looking
statements include comments regarding mineral reserve and resource
statements, exploration program performance and engineering studies.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include
metal price volatility, economic and political events affecting metal
supply and demand, fluctuations in ore grade, ore tonnes milled,
geological, technical, mining or processing problems, exploration
programs and future results of exploration programs at the Lac des Iles
Mine, future profitability and production. The Company disclaims any
obligation to update forward-looking statements.
-30-
For further information: Keith C. Minty - President & CEO, Tel:
(416) 360-2656, Fax: (416) 360-7709, or George D. Faught - Vice President
Finance & CFO, Tel: (416) 360-2650, Fax: (416) 360-7709 |
