North American Palladium announced March 27 that it has filed a revised technical report outlining expansion at its Lac des Iles Mine, near Thunder Bay.
The Toronto-headquartered miner said a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), first discussed in a Feb. 26 news release, supports a new base case which extends the mine life from 2019 to 2029, including current operations with the addition of an open pit expansion.
The PEA also includes the potential Phase 2 shaft deepening project where preliminary positive results indicate that further exploration and technical investigation is justified.
The company said in the latest PEA, the current mine plan (proven and probable with measured and indicated resources), the production tonnes changed from 23.0 million to 22.3 million. The average palladium grade changed from 2.11 grams per tonne (g/t) to 2.06 g/t.
In the open pit mine expansion (measured and indicated resources), production tonnes changed from 39.0 million to 38.5 million.
The average palladium grade changed from 1.28 g/t to 1.27 g/t.
The base case scenario (proven and probable with measured and indicated) production tonnes changed from 62.0 million and to 60.8 million. The average palladium grade changed from 1.59 g/t to 1.56 g/t.
None of the project metric has changed with the Phase 2 expansion.
North American Palladium has been operating Lac des Iles mine since 1993. It is one of only two primary producers of palladium in the world.
