Fifty Conductive Zones Identified In North American Nickel VTEM Plus Survey at its Maniitsoq Ni-Cu-PGE Project, Southwest Greenland
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/24/12 -- North American Nickel Inc. (TSX VENTURE: NAN)(OTCBB: WSCRF)(CUSIP:65704T 108) ("NAN") is pleased to report that fifty zones of conductivity, many with significant strike lengths, have been identified in preliminary data from its recently completed VTEM Plus helicopter time domain electromagnetic survey over its 100% owned Maniitsoq project in Southwest Greenland. (See image 1).
More than twelve of the fifty have already been identified as higher priority zones which have the potential to become targets for the company's upcoming drill program in August. A more detailed analysis of all the VTEM Plus data is underway.
NAN CEO, Rick Mark, states: "We are very pleased that the VTEM Plus system has been successful in delineating fifty new conductors. With this data, we already have a dozen new targets similar in priority to the three drill targets previously identified in last fall's smaller SkyTEM survey, some with apparent strike lengths in excess of 1 km. Now that we can point conclusively to conductors occurring throughout the 75 km long belt, we are more comfortable than ever in describing this as a camp-scale exploration play."
The Greenland Norite Belt (GNB) is a 75 km long by 15 km wide belt of crustally contaminated noritic intrusions with numerous historical, high-grade nickel sulphide showings (e.g. 9.85 m averaging 2.67% Ni and 0.60% Cu at the Imiak Hill showing). Mineralization within the belt has consistently high nickel tenor (6-8% Ni in 100% sulphide according to work done by Falconbridge in 2000).
Despite its obvious high prospectivity, the GNB has seen little drilling. A total of 119 holes totalling only 6,300 m, for an average hole length of less than 53 m, were drilled in the 1960's and 70's. More recent exploration programs stopped short of drilling due to a lack of EM anomalies to guide drilling. NAN's strategy at Maniitsoq has been to use modern helicopter borne TEM systems to develop drill targets and it has proven successful. This technology was not available to previous explorers.
The VTEM Plus survey, combined with a SkyTEM survey flown by NAN last year, provides the company with high resolution TEM coverage over a total area of 860 square kilometers centred on the Greenland Norite Belt).
Data from the VTEM Plus survey is currently being processed and interpreted. All significant electromagnetic anomalies will be checked in the field and ranked. The highest priority targets will be tested during a drill program that is planned to commence in August.
The survey, which ran from June 20 to July 17 and comprised 3,532 line-km of surveying, was performed by Geotech Ltd. of Toronto, Ontario. Condor Consulting Inc. of Lakewood, Colorado provided daily QA/QC analysis of the data.
In late June, 2012 it was announced that the GNB was in place as a result of a giant meteorite impact. For more information on the GNB and NAN's exploration program now underway in Greenland, please visit the company's website http://www.northamericannickel.com/
To view the map associated with this press release, please visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/nan-0724-image1.pdf
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 and Chief Operating Officer, North American Nickel Inc.
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 VENTURE: VMS) owns 26M shares of NAN.
The Maniitsoq property in Greenland is a district scale project. It comprises a 4,983 square km mineral exploration licence covering numerous high-grade nickel-copper sulphide occurrences associated with norite and other mafic-ultramafic intrusions. The 70km plus long belt is situated along, and near, the southwest coast of Greenland, which is ice free year round.
The Post Creek/Halycon 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.
The Company has 100% ownership in the high-grade Ni-Cu-PGE South Bay property near Thompson, Manitoba and the large grassroots Thompson North and Cedar Lake properties, which are part of the world-class Thompson Nickel Belt in Manitoba.
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.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
North American Nickel Inc.
Dr. Mark Fedikow, P.Geo.
President & Chief Operating Officer
604-986-2020 or Toll free: 1-866-816-0118
www.northamericannickel.com