THUNDER BAY — The South African-based company that recently acquired North American Palladium has resumed a drilling program on its mining claims at Sunday Lake, about 30 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
Impala Platinum's purchase of NAP gave it a 75 per cent interest in the Sunday Lake platinum-palladium project. Transition Metals holds a 25 per cent interest.
Impala began mobilizing equipment to the site this month, and has started drilling four holes, none of which is closer than 300 metres to the lake.
David Benson, exploration lead for the project, says the previously planned winter drilling program which identified 18 potential holes was modified in response to community feedback and for technical reasons.
"We put that out to the public, and we did receive some feedback, just people who had some concerns. A lot of it had to do with proximity to the lake," Benson told Tbnewswatch in an interview.
He said the company took the comments into consideration and ultimately opted to prioritize four drill sites during the current three-month window for winter drilling.
The deepest borehole to date at Sunday Lake is about 1,600 metres.
Noise suppression instruments are being used, including industrial-grade exhaust mufflers for the drills' diesel engines, and rubber mallets to reduce the hammering sounds created when steel drill rods are struck.
Drilling equipment is brought to the site on the Barnum and Ton Lake roads via Highway 527.
"This program is designed to take us to a key decision point, Where we go from there will really be results-dependent," Benson said.
"Even though it's only four drill holes, these are four key holes that will determine the future" in terms of further drilling, he added.
Impala has told stakeholders that any decision on developing an underground mine is still several years away.
The company has negotiated option-to-purchase agreements with some landowners in the Sunday Lake area, but no property will be acquired before decisions are made regarding the economic viability of a mine.
In the meantime, Benson stressed, Impala is working hard to communicate its plans regularly by publishing project updates and by holding meetings with stakeholders including area cottage owners, the Fort William First Nation and Metis groups.
Palladium is increasingly in demand globally for a variety of applications, ranging from automobile catalytic converters to jewellery.
Market prices have climbed steadily over the past couple of years.
