VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 28, 2013) - North American Nickel Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NAN) (OTCBB:WSCRF) (CUSIP: 65704T 108) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has finalized the 2013 exploration plan for its 100% owned Maniitsoq project. The program, which is scheduled to commence in mid-June, will consist of a minimum of 3,000 meters of diamond drilling to follow-up on 2012 discoveries and test new geological, geophysical and geochemical targets identified from a review of exploration datasets. Surface pulse time domain electromagnetic (PEM) surveys and 550 line-km of helicopter time domain, electromagnetic and magnetic surveying will also be undertaken in areas not covered in 2011 and 2012.
NAN CEO, Rick Mark states: "We expect this to be a busy, exciting and productive year at Maniitsoq. Our experience on the project for the last two years and particularly our camp/drilling experience last year has allowed us to ramp up for our planned $5,500,000 2013 program smoothly and efficiently. Chief Geologist John Pattison has been full time on the project since we left Greenland last September. COO Neil Richardson will accompany our expanded ground team to Maniitsoq in early June with drilling expected to begin on, or around, June 21, 2013. Target identification has been very successful, as we now have identified more than 100 targets for consideration at Maniitsoq."
Key elements and objectives of the 2013 Maniitsoq program are as follows:
DIAMOND DRILLING
- To explore along strike and down plunge of the high grade mineralized zones intersected by NAN in 2012 at Spotty Hill and Imiak Hill.(e.g. 123.94 m @ 0.81% Ni, 0.21% Cu, 0.03% Co and 0.26 g/t PGM including 24.20 m @ 1.75% Ni, 0.34% Cu, 0.06% Co and 0.52 g/t PGM at Spotty Hill and 26.98 m @ 0.98% Ni, 0.44% Cu and 0.04% Co including 16.64 m @1.36 % Ni, 0.52% Cu and 0.05% Co at Imiak Hill). For example, the attached longitudinal section (Figure 1) shows the planned pierce points for three holes designed to test the interpreted down plunge extension of intersections in holes MQ-12-001 and -002 at Imiak Hill last year.
- To test new, high priority conductors identified by helicopter-borne time domain electromagnetic surveys flown by NAN in 2011 and 2012. Priority will be given to high conductivity targets associated with mafic-ultramafic rocks such as target P-63 (see NAN press release dated March 20, 2013 for details).
- Three-component bore hole electromagnetic (BHEM) surveys will be undertaken to increase the effective search radius of the hole. In cases where a hole has intersected conductive mineralization, the BHEM data can help determine its orientation. In cases where a hole fails to intersect a target conductor, the BHEM data can often provide more precise information on the direction to the conductor which allows the geologist to design a more accurate follow-up hole to intersect the target.
FIELD CHECKING OF POTENTIAL DRILL TARGETS
- Over the winter NAN's exploration team combed through all available exploration data from the project area. As a result, the inventory of potential targets has increased to over one hundred (Figure 2). To date less than 40 of these have been checked in the field. This year a four person team will be dedicated to checking as many of the other targets as possible.
- The field checking will consist of prospecting, rock sampling and in some cases channel sampling and/or geological mapping.
SURFACE PULSE TIME DOMAIN ELECTROMAGNETIC (PEM) SURVEYS
- Focused PEM surveys will be done over selected targets where further detail is required. The PEM system may also be used to test geophysical and geological hypotheses prior to drilling.
HELICOPTER TIME DOMAIN ELECTROMAGNETIC AND MAGNETIC SURVEYS
- The surveys will be flown over several small blocks that cover areas of geological interest outside the main Greenland Norite Belt and in areas recently acquired by North American Nickel.
The 2013 exploration program will be conducted from a field camp situated within the project area. The camp logistics will be supplied by Xploration Services Greenland ApS of Nuuk who will also provide general expediting and support to the project. Westcore Drilling Ltd of Salmo, British Columbia will perform the diamond drilling and Crone Geophysics & Exploration Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario will conduct the BHEM and surface PEM surveys. All of these contractors are experts in their respective fields.
To view the maps associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/n528nan1.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 of 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.V: VMS) owns approximately 27.5% of NAN.
The Maniitsoq property in Greenland is a Camp scale project comprising 4,983 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/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.
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
Dr. Mark Fedikow HBSc., M.Sc., Ph.D., P.Eng., P.Geo., C.P.G, President
North American Nickel Inc.
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.
