North American Nickel Confirms Two Styles of Sulphide Mineralization at its Maniitsoq Ni-Cu-PGE Project, Southwest Greenland
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/03/12 -- North American Nickel Inc. (TSX VENTURE: NAN)(OTCBB: WSCRF) (CUSIP: 65704T 108) - North American Nickel ("NAN") is pleased to announce that the preliminary results from its first drill campaign at the 100% owned Maniitsoq project in Southwest Greenland indicate the property has the potential to host not only high-grade, semi-massive to massive sulphide type nickel copper deposits, but disseminated, bulk mineable nickel copper deposits, as well.
Historically, nickel exploration at Maniitsoq has focused mainly on massive sulphide type mineralization. Two of NAN's 2012 drill holes (MQ-12-001 and 002) intersected semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization in noritic rocks at the known Imiak Hill occurrence in the northern part of the Greenland Norite belt. This style of mineralization responds well to electromagnetic (EM) techniques and the results of bore hole EM (BHEM) surveys indicate that the mineralization is open down plunge, as described in a NAN press release dated September 6, 2012.
Importantly, significant amounts of disseminated, bulk mineable nickel copper style sulphide mineralization were encountered in two of NAN's 2012 holes located approximately 1.25 km east of Imiak Hill at an occurrence known as Spotty Hill.
Historical drilling at Spotty Hill consisted of five closely spaced holes, 32.8 to 59.8 m in length, drilled within a 120 x 40 meter area. All five holes intersected disseminated nickel copper sulphide mineralization at depths of 2 to 52 meters below surface. NAN's drill holes were spaced 80 meters apart and went deeper. In hole MQ-12-05, NAN intersected disseminated mineralization over a core length of 118.8 meters to a depth of 130 meters below surface, significantly increasing the known depth extent of the mineralization.
NAN Chief Geologist, John Pattison, states: "Once we saw the disseminated, bulk mineable nickel copper style mineralization in core, it provided us with a new understanding of what is possible within this camp-sized land package. Fortunately, two of our geologists, Neil Richardson and Mark Fedikow were at the Maniitsoq camp and we still had time to identify and visit several potential sites for this style of mineralization before the season ended. The recognition of this bulk mineable nickel copper mineralization provides us with a wider scope for discovery and, it appears, many additional targets for our 2013 program."
In the press release dated September 20, 2012, NAN announced the drill program at Maniitsoq totalled 1,550 meters of diamond drilling in nine holes. (See Figure 1 for locations of areas drilled). A total of 531 core samples have been submitted to Activation Laboratories for analysis and results are pending.
The program was originally planned to include 10 holes totalling up to 2,000 meters. This was based on an average hole length of 200 meters. Several drill holes intersected the target well above 150 meters, so it was not necessary to take them to 200 meters. Also, two targets in the southern part of the property were not drilled as the cost of moving the drill such a long distance, so late in the season with deteriorating weather, could have driven costs up to an unacceptable level. It was decided to leave these targets for next season's drilling.
For previous press releases and more information on NAN and the Maniitsoq project please visit the company website at www.northamericannickel.com.
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 of North American Nickel Inc.
To view accompanying map, visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/NAN2012DrillProgram.jpg
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 approximately 27M 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 70 km 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 WIC is situated 13 km southeast of Sudbury and 1 km south of Trans-Canada Highway 17 at Wanapitei. It is an elongate 5.6 km by 2.4 km layered mafic intrusion trending northeast-southwest that comprises nickel-copper-PGE mineralized gabbro-norite and a gabbro "Injection Breccia Zone".
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
604-986-2020 or Toll free: 1-866-816-0118
www.northamericannickel.com