VANCOUVER,
Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Northern
Iron Corp. ("Northern" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NFE) (OTCQX-
NHRIF) (FRANKFURT: N8I) today announced that the dewatering of
the north pit on the past producing Griffith mine commenced on October 22nd. The permit to dewater
the pit was granted by the Ministry of Environment on August 15th, 2012 to pump out the
first 25 meters of water.
Basil Botha,
Northern's President & CEO stated, "Dewatering is an important
milestone that will enable us to position diamond drills on the
benches and drill out the resource. This event brings us another
step closer to reaching our objectives in working towards putting
the Griffith mine back into
production. The first phase of the dewatering program will begin at
a rate of approximately 72,000 litres a minute (19,000 gallons) and
will be discharged into Bruce Lake, which is an adjoining water
body that covered the Griffith
property prior to the construction of dykes to permit the mining of
the ore body." Botha continued, "The majority of the residents and
town councils of the towns of Ear
Falls, Red Lake and
Dryden see the dewatering program
as a major step in bringing much needed jobs to north-western
Ontario."
About Northern Iron Corp.
The Company is a 100% owner of five iron ore
properties in the Red Lake
district containing over 500 million tonnes of historical
resources. The Red Lake district
is situated in an established mining area in Ontario, where the company has two near term
development projects, the past producing Griffith mine and the Karas property.
The Company is currently working towards the
production of HBI, a transportable form of direct reduced
iron. HBI is complementary and a viable metallic alternative
to scrap steel. Quality scrap is a critical raw material in the
steel making process. With the diminishing supply of quality scrap
steel and ever increasing market demand, steel producers around the
world will be looking to secure alternative supplies of metallic
products.
As part of the business plan, the Company
acquired the past producing Griffith mine, which produced pellets and
sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron/DRI) from 1968 to 1986. The
mine was owned and operated by STELCO and supplied pellets and
sponge iron to the Hamilton and
Nanticoke steel mills in
Ontario. The metallurgy of the
deposit has been proven over eighteen years of production.
Almost the entire transportation infrastructure
is currently in place to both produce HBI and to ship produced HBI
into the North American market via rail and lake barges and into
Asian markets via rail through the port of Prince Rupert. Existing infrastructure
includes all weather roads, 115kV power line, natural gas line,
rail bed and port facilities.
The Company is focusing on de-risking the
project by seeking out potential joint venture partners, off-take
agreements or a combination thereof.
A qualified person has not completed sufficient work to classify
the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the issuer is
not treating the historical estimate as current mineral
resources.
Cautionary Statement
The foregoing information may contain
forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of
the Company. Forward-looking statements, specifically those
concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the
Company's plans and expectations. These plans, expectations, risks
and uncertainties are detailed herein and from time to time in the
filings made by the Company with the TSX Venture Exchange and
securities regulators. The Company does not assume any
obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange,
securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved of
disapproved the information contained herein.
SOURCE Northern Iron Corp.