Name and Location
Lac des Iles (LDI) palladium mine expansion project, Ontario, Canada.

Client
North American Palladium (NAP).

Project Description
LDI is one of only two primary palladium producers in the world. The mine is located about 85 km north-west of the city of Thunder Bay, in Ontario.

The mine consists of openpit and underground mining operations and a large 15 000 t/d mill, with additional capacity available for future production growth.

In 2010, NAP started a major expansion of LDI to increase underground production and reduce cash costs per ounce.

The expansion comprises the transitioning of underground operations to shaft access mining, while using a high-volume bulk mining method.
The first phase of the expansion includes:
• sinking a shaft 825 m from surface;
• establishing underground infrastructure to mine the offset zone, using a high-volume bulk mining method, which includes expanding the ramp at depth, building new mine levels and setting up mining stopes for production;
• establishing surface infrastructure to service the expanded underground operations, which includes the construction of the headframe, the hoist house, the service, auxiliary and production hoists and the electrical substations.

Value
As of March 31, 2012, NAP had invested $328.2-million in the expansion.

Duration
The company is aiming to use the new shaft by the end of the third quarter of 2013, with full operational benefits of the shaft to be realised in 2014.

Latest Developments
The shaft sinking is on schedule.

The production hoist is now operational and the installation of the main skip dump is in progress. The first offset zone mining stope, where mining started in the fourth quarter of 2012, has been successfully mined out, and production has started in the second offset zone stope. Although there have been delays, the development of additional mining stopes is in progress.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
NAP director of investor relations and corporate communications Camilla Bartosiewicz, tel +1 416 360 7590 ext 7226 or email camilla@nap.com.