Northern Iron to pump 2.5 million cubic meters of water in the
first phase from the Griffith Mine Pit
- First phase of dewatering 60% complete
- Water level in the pit has dropped by 2.1 metres (7
feet)
- Dewatering to continue into the third week of
December
VANCOUVER,
Dec. 3, 2012 /CNW/ - Northern Iron
Corp. ("Northern" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NFE) (OTCQX- NHRIF)
(FRANKFURT: N8I) today announced that dewatering operations on
the Griffith Mine pit continue to progress as planned and water is
being pumped at an approximate rate of 53,000 litres per minute.
The pumps have been winterized and preparations have been made to
keep the dewatering program running into December.
Basil Botha,
President and CEO said; "Dewatering the Griffith mine pit will allow our drills to get
onto the first tier of benches and the drill program should be
completed over the summer months in 2013. The data will provide the
necessary information to work towards a preliminary economic
assessment and take us another step closer to achieving our
objective of putting this past producing mine back into
production."
To date, an estimated 1.5 million cubic meters of
water has been pumped from the pit and the team is working towards
pumping a further million cubic metres for a total of 2.5 million
cubic metres before shutting down for the winter.
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
with grades ranging from 22% to 31% Fe. 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.
A qualified person has not done sufficient work
to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources,
the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current
mineral resources.
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.
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 or
disapproved the information contained herein.
SOURCE Northern Iron Corp.