North American Nickel Inc.: New Nickel Discovery Within the Fossilik Norite at Maniitsoq Project; Drill Program Ends, Assays Pending for Imiak Hill Conduit Complex
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sep 26, 2013) - North American Nickel Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NAN)(OTCBB:WSCRF) (CUSIP:65704T 108) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has made a new discovery at drill hole MQ-13-018, which is ~9 km south of the Imiak Hill Conduit Complex (IHCC). It intersected three new zones of nickel sulphide; all hosted by the Fossilik intrusion, which is the largest norite body in the Greenland Norite Belt at ~8 sq. km. MQ-13-018 is associated with NAN's 2012 VTEM conductor P-04.
This new discovery is within a 10km radius from the Imiak Hill Conduit Complex, which the Company believes to be a reasonable distance to truck mineralization to a potential central mining / concentrating complex at, or near, Imiak Hill (see map 1).
NAN CEO, Rick Mark states. "This discovery is only 9 km from our recently announced near solid to solid sulphide intersections at Imiak Hill and Imiak North. It has significant near surface Ni-Cu-Co & PGM mineralization which is disseminated, similar to mineralization at Spotty Hill within the IHCC. The Fossilik norite also contains historical mineralized zones with grades of up to 2.24% Ni and 0.63% Cu. It creates a new area of focus for the company and bolsters our belief that the Maniitsoq conduit system has potential to produce multiple deposits."
MQ-13-018 HIGHLIGHTS:
- 32.19m @ 0.59% NI, 0.18% Cu, 0.02% Co, 0.21 g/t PGM (Zone 1)
Including:
- 4.53m @ 1.06% Ni, 0.23% Cu, 0.04% Co, 0.33 g/t PGM
The mineralization was intersected between 35 and 160 m vertically below surface and it consists mainly of disseminated and blebby sulphides with occasional short intervals of inclusion bearing sulphide. All of the sulphides are hosted in massive melanocratic norite.
The Fossilik intrusion also hosts several historical showings including the Fossilik I and II occurrences:
- Fossilik II includes historical drill holes with grades of up to 2.24% Ni and 0.63% Cu over a core length of 12.89 metres in drill hole FoIl-1
- Fossilik I includes historical drill holes with grades of 1.07% Ni and 0.46% Cu over a core length of 25.10 metres in drill hole F-3.
Table 1 below summarizes the assay results for MQ-13-018. All three mineralized zones are hosted in massive, non-foliated, melanocratic norite.
Table 1: MQ-13-018 significant assays
| From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Ni (%) | Cu (%) | Co (%) | Pt (g/t) | Pd (g/t) | Au (g/t) | Total PGM* | S (%) | ||
| Zone 1 | 40.24 | 72.43 | 32.19 | 0.59 | 0.18 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.21 | 2.94 | |
| Incl. | 51.75 | 56.28 | 4.53 | 1.06 | 0.23 | 0.04 | 0.20 | 0.04 | 0.09 | 0.33 | 5.97 | |
| Zone 2 | 94.00 | 120.00 | 26.00 | 0.24 | 0.11 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.16 | 1.31 | |
| incl. | 108.00 | 117.00 | 9.00 | 0.42 | 0.15 | 0.02 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.10 | 0.27 | 2.38 | |
| Zone 3 | 173.29 | 182.00 | 8.71 | 0.26 | 0.15 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.12 | 1.04 | |
Note: all lengths are core lengths, true widths are unknown.
Hole collar information (WGS84 / UTM22N) 474324E / 7248800N / 695 masl, azimuth 50, dip -60, length 182 metres. (masl = metres above sea level)
The 2013 exploration program at Maniitsoq has come to an end, with 25 diamond drill holes completed for a total of 4266 metres. The drilling focused on numerous VTEM anomalies and existing Ni - Cu occurrences within the Greenland Norite Belt (GNB). A total of 1541 core samples have been submitted for analysis. All 2011 and 2012 targets (116) have been field checked by NAN geologists with a total of 238 field locations reviewed for mineralization and geological information. A total of 104 rock samples were analyzed and the NAN exploration team collected a total of 150 channel samples over mineralized areas of interest.
Qualified Person
All technical information in this release has been reviewed by Dr. Mark Fedikow, P.Geo, who is the Qualified Person for the Company and President, North American Nickel Inc.
Drill core assay results are evaluated as part of a Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedure that includes the use of multi-element, certified standards with known precious and base metal values, blank standards and control charts to determine accuracy and precision of analytical results. Core sample analysis was completed by ALS Scandinavia AS of Ojebyn, Sweden. Three methods of analysis were used to determine element concentrations in the rock samples submitted to ALS. These were 1. A multi-element scan, subsequent to a four-acid digestion and ICP/ICP-AES finish; 2. Au, Pt and Pd lead fire assay on a 30 gram sample with ICP-AES finish; and 3. Samples with >1.00% Ni or Cu were re-analyzed by ICP-AES calibrated for ore grade detection limits. Samples with >0.50% S were re-analyzed by Leco furnace and infrared spectroscopy.
About North American Nickel
North American Nickel is a mineral exploration company with 100% owned properties in Maniitsoq, Greenland, Sudbury, Ontario, and the Thompson, Manitoba nickel belt. VMS Ventures Inc. (TSX.V: VMS) owns approximately 27.5% of NAN.
The Maniitsoq property in Greenland is a Camp scale project comprising 5,106 square km's covering numerous high-grade nickel-copper sulphide occurrences associated with norite and other mafic-ultramafic intrusions of the Greenland Norite Belt (GNB). The 70km plus long belt is situated along, and near, the southwest coast of Greenland, which is pack ice free year round.
The first two discoveries of economic mineralization at Imiak Hill and Spotty Hill confirm the high value and potential of the GNB.
The Post Creek/Halcyon property in Sudbury is strategically located adjacent to the producing Podolsky copper-nickel-platinum group metal deposit of Quadra FNX Mining. The property lies along the extension of the Whistle Offset dyke structure. Such geological structures host major Ni-Cu-PGM deposits and producing mines within the Sudbury Camp.
Statements about the Company's future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and as that term defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbours created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from the expected results.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Neil Richardson, COO, North American Nickel Inc.
To view Map 1, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/nan0926map1.pdf.