Palladium One active on Finland resource estimates
Palladium One Mining Inc. [PDM-TSXV, NKORF-OTC, 7N11-FRA] shares were active Monday after the company released new resource estimates for its Lantinen Koillisma (LK) PGE-Cu-Ni project in north-central Finland
“We are pleased to report important milestones that measurably de-risk our LK project,” the company said in a press release. They include a mineral resource estimate at Kaukua South and Murtolampi which increases the Kaukua Area’s indicated resources by 250%.”
The company said advanced metallurgical testing conducted by SGS (Lakefield) demonstrates consistently repeatable metallurgical recoveries from a project that is expected to produce both a high-value copper and nickel concentrate using a conventional flotation recovery process.
“These milestones substantially improve the economic potential by confirming scale and delivering clarity of recovery rates for various rock types,” the company said. “With a grade of 30% copper in the copper concentrate and a value of approximately US$4,200 for the nickel concentrate, both are highly marketable, which bodes well for future concentrate marketing negotiations,” it said.
However, the shares tumbled on the news, falling 14.6% or $0.035 to 20.5 cents on volume of almost 1.4 million. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 16.5 cents and 37 cents.
Palladium One is a platinum-group-elements, nickel, copper exploration and development company. Its property portfolio consists of the LK project and the Tyko Ni-Cu-PGE property near Marathon, Ont.
Exploration at LK is focused on targeting disseminated sulfides along 38 kilometres of favourable basal contact and building on an established NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource.
In Monday’s news release, Palladium One said LK contains an indicated resource of 1.1 million ounces of total precious metals (TPM) (palladium, platinum, plus gold) (0.89 g/t), containing 111 million pounds of copper (0.13%, 92 million pounds of nickel (0.11%) and 5.0 million pounds of cobalt (65 g/t) in 38.2 million tonnes.
On top of that is an inferred resource of 1.1 million ounces of TPM (0.68 g/t), 173 million pounds of copper (0.16%), 152 million pounds of nickel (0.14%), and 8.0 million pounds of cobalt (74 g/t) in 49.7 million tonnes.
The latest estimates envisage three open pits in the Kaukua Area (including Murtolampi) and one at Haukiaho, 10 kilometres to the south of Kakua.
The estimates mark a 248% increase in indicated tonnage and a 14% increase in inferred stones, providing the opportunity for a large tonnage, long-life mine to be developed.
While continued exploration in 2022 to increase the size of LK is ongoing, the company said it has accelerated baseline environmental studies and is planning to advance a preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
“The bulk of 2022’s exploration efforts are expected to be in Canada and directed to the award winning Tyko nickel-copper project,” said Palladium One President and CEO Derrick Weyrauch. “Once drill permits are received, we plan to drill test several multi-line VTEM anomalies where highly anomalous soil sample values of copper nickel and cobalt were discovered in 2021.”
“To date, additional drill permits have not been received.”