TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Junior explorer North American Nickel (NAN) this week reported that it had started its 2014 drilling campaign at high-grade targets at its prospective Maniitsoq project, on Greenland’s south-west coast.

The Vancouver-based firm, which is scouring the remains of what is thought to be the world’s oldest meteor impact site, for nickel deposits, on Thursday said drilling had started on its nickel/copper/platinum-group metals (PGM) sulphide project with two diamond drills targeting existing prospects and regional targets along the Greenland Norite Belt.

NAN would also be looking to develop new target areas within the significant property package being explored.

The first drill is focused on the Imiak Hill Conduit Complex (IHCC) and more specifically on the Imiak Hill zone where previous drilling intersected 4.31% nickel, 0.62% copper and 0.14% cobalt over an 18.62 m core length in hole MQ-13-026.

The zones at IHCC remain open at depth and the 2014 drilling will test the down plunge potential of these nickel/copper/PGM systems. The deepest mineralised intersection to date on the property is in hole MQ-13-028, which reported 3.19 nickel and 1.14% copper over 24.75 m, at depth of about 185 m from surface.

NAN said the second drill was scheduled to start in about three weeks and would begin in the Pingo target area, located about 25 km north-west of the IHCC.

The 2013 helicopter-borne versatile time-domain electromagnetic survey identified high-priority sub-surface conductors at Pingo, which were comparable with NAN's surface sampling and historical exploration results; both had documented anomalous nickel sulphide mineralisation in noritic rocks.

All diamond drill holes would be surveyed using a three-dimensional (ZXY) borehole pulse electromagnetic system operated by Crone Geophysics & Exploration, which detected sulphide mineralisation up to 100 m away from the hole, as well as assisted with defining intersected conductor or zone parameters. This method had been used over the last two years of drilling at Maniitsoq and had assisted the geological team in understanding the mineralised systems at IHCC.

Crone Geophysics had completed 936 gravity stations, with 627 completed at IHCC and 309 completed at Fossilik. The survey was successfully completed and the crew had returned to Canada. The gravity data was being interpreted by Magma Geoscience and the results were expected in July.

Surface time-domain electromagnetic surveys (TDEM) had also been completed on the IHCC and Fossilik target areas. A total of 79.55 line kilometres were surveyed, with 69.4 line kilometres completed over the IHCC and 10.15 line kilometres over the Fossilik area.

Survey work would continue for the next seven to ten days, focusing on the Fossilik area grid and, in particular, the Fossilik II showing. Crone Geophysics would also interpret the TDEM survey.

Global warming is thawing Greenland’s Arctic sea lanes and global industry is eyeing minerals under this barren island a quarter the size of the US, with 57 000 residents. But locals are wrestling with the implications of taking advantage of opportunities for rich rewards at the risk of harming a pristine environment and a traditional society that is trying to make its own way in the world after centuries of European rule.