Northland Receives Positive DFS on Kaunisvaara Project
27 Settembre 2010 - 6:30AM
Marketwired Canada
Northland Resources S.A. (TSX:NAU)(FRANKFURT:NBS)(OSLO:NAUR) ("Northland" or
"the Company") is pleased to announce the positive outcome of the Definitive
Feasibility Study ("DFS") on its 100%-owned Kaunisvaara Project ("the Project")
in northern Sweden which exploits the Company's Tapuli and Sahavaara magnetite
iron ore deposits and the Kaunisvaara mill.
"We are very pleased to have reached another important milestone with the
delivery of the definitive feasibility study. It has confirmed previous work and
our belief that Kaunisvaara is a robust project. The plan now is to move into
the execution phase which will include building up the organizational structure
for construction and production, starting major work at the mine site and
securing some of the long-lead items," said Karl-Axel Waplan, Northland's
President and CEO.
The Highlights of the DFS:
-- After interest and tax(1), Net Present Value ("NPV") of MUSD 463 using a
discount rate of 8% and an Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 18.8%.
-- A payback period of 4.9 years from the first production of concentrate
from the Project.
-- Mining operations to commence in the fourth quarter of 2012, and first
iron ore concentrate production forecast for early 2013 at roughly 1.5
million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa"), increasing to 5 Mtpa by 2014.
-- Total OPEX /tonne ("t") concentrate delivered FOB at the port of Narvik,
Norway, is estimated to average USD 54/t concentrate for the Life of
Mine ("LOM") and to average USD 52/t over the first 10 years of
operation inclusive of a 5% contingency (but excluding royalty).
-- Production of a high-value magnetite pellet feed concentrate (69% Fe)
forecast to generate a premium price to standard hematite sinter
products and to have a very low level of impurities.
-- Initial CAPEX in order to reach 5 Mtpa of concentrate capacity is MUSD
694. The CAPEX figure includes a 10% contingency. Maximum negative cash
is expected to be approximately MUSD 583 as the initial CAPEX is planned
to be partially funded by cash flow.
-- A LOM of 19 years, based on NI 43-101 defined reserves which could
increase following the completion of an evaluation of the Pellivuoma
deposit.
-- Proven and Probable reserves at Tapuli and Sahavaara totalling 176
million tonnes ("Mt") of ore grading 32.53% Fe.
-- The DFS is based on regular year-round shipments from the deep-water,
ice-free port of Narvik, Norway, and the Company is expected to utilize
Cape-Size vessels for customers outside Europe.
-- Tapuli mine and the Kaunisvaara mill are fully permitted; Sahavaara
exploitation permit is expected soon.
(1) This is based on Northland's estimate of IRR and NPV before tax and
interest which are consistent in all material respects with the equivalent
pre-tax estimates derived by SRK and presented in the NI 43-101 report.
As part of the NI 43-101 process, SRK Consulting (UK) Limited (SRK) has audited
the Resource and Reserve statements and the capital and operating cost estimates
for the Kaunisvaara Project. SRK's estimates for IRR and NPV before tax and
interest presented in the NI 43-101 are consistent in all material respects with
the pre-tax estimates derived by Northland and presented in the DFS. The
following press release presents extracts from the DFS.
A complete NI 43-101 compliant DFS report will be filed on SEDAR on www.sedar.com.
DFS Overview
The DFS for the Kaunisvaara Project includes the Tapuli and Sahavaara magnetite
iron ore deposits. They will provide feed to a single, multi-line processing
facility in Sweden. The Pellivuoma deposit will be included in the DFS once a
DFS has been completed. This is expected to occur in the first half of 2011.
The DFS was led by Aker Solutions which was responsible for overall study
management and coordination. Aker Solutions was supported by a number of
specialist service groups and sub-consultants. (See table below).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Study Management & Coordination Aker Solutions
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Geology and Resources SRK Consulting (UK) Limited
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Mine Scheduling / Reserves SRK Consulting (UK) Limited
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Processing Plant Aker Solutions
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Metallurgical Processing Bo Arvidson Consulting
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Infrastructure Poyry
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Capital Cost Estimate Compilation Aker Solutions
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Operating Cost Estimate Compilation Aker Solutions
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Market Studies Raw Materials Group
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Evaluation of Kaunisvaara Concentrate in
Pelletizing and Iron Making Dr. Lawrence Hooey
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Environmental Report ERM Consulting
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Financial Analysis An international accounting firm
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Transportation of magnetite product In-House (Northland)
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Conference Call
Northland will host an interactive webcast presentation and conference call to
discuss the Kaunisvaara Definitive Feasibility Study at 17:00 Central European
Time (CET) or 11:00 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Monday, September 27, 2010.
The call will be chaired by Anders Hvide, Chairman and Karl-Axel Waplan, Chief
Executive Officer.
Dial-In:
-- USA/CA: +1 866 458 40 87
-- Sweden: +46 (0)8 505 598 53
-- UK: +44 (0)203 043 24 36
-- Norway +47 215 111 88
A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with supporting
presentation slides, will be available on our website at www.northland.eu.
DFS Results in Detail
Capital and operating cost estimates were compiled by Aker Solutions based on
information provided by all consultants. This formed the basis for the financial
analysis included in the NI 43-101 technical report.
CAPEX
The initial CAPEX in order to reach 5 Mtpa capacity (2014) has been estimated at
MUSD 694 including a 10% contingency. Maximum negative cash is expected to be
approximately MUSD 583 as the initial CAPEX is planned to be partially funded by
cash flow.
This compares to an initial CAPEX estimate in the Preliminary Economic
Assessment ("PEA") for Tapuli and Sahavaara of MUSD 617.1.
CAPEX for the Life of Mine (19 years) is estimated at MUSD 908, including
sustaining capital and a 10% contingency. This number compares with the PEA
estimate of MUSD 968 (including a 15% contingency).
DFS CAPEX Details
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5 Mt
Capacity CAPEX
Area 2014 (MUSD)
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Mines, dikes, mobile mining equipment 139
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Mines - crushing stations & conveyors 58
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Plant - stream Sahavaara 122
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Plant - stream Tapuli 175
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Tailings & water ponds/lines 34
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Power supply 15
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Filtration plant/common equipment & infrastructure 91
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Owners cost 57
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Closure cost 3
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Total 694
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OPEX
Total OPEX during the first 10 years of operation has been estimated to average
USD 52 (including 5% contingency) per tonne of concentrate (dry) delivered Free
on Board ("FOB") to the Port of Narvik, Norway. The LOM average operating cost
is USD 54 per tonne. This is based on a transportation solution from the
Kaunisvaara process facility in Sweden where concentrate will be trucked to
Svappavaara, Sweden, and railed on existing railway to the deep-water ice-free
port of Narvik, Norway, for export. The costs associated with the logistics
solution are at PEA study level. All transportation costs are classified as
operating costs. Operators that have contracts with Northland will be
responsible for the required investment in equipment.
The decision to ship via Narvik has opened up the possibility for larger
seaborne vessels which is expected to have an overall positive impact on the
margins compared to the Kemi port solution in the PEA.
The move to Narvik results in a substantially higher FOB net-back price as a
result of reduced shipping costs, generating an improved margin of around USD 7
per tonne compared to using the Port of Kemi, Finland, based on a weighted
volume of sales to Europe and the Far East.
The increase in the OPEX from the PEA estimate of USD 38 per tonne to the DFS
estimate of USD 54 per tonne is largely a result of an increase in
transportation costs to Narvik, and an under-statement of the costs for the
transportation on the Finnish rail as well as at the port of Kemi. There has
also been an increase in mining costs as a result of a clearer definition of the
Sahavaara reserves which resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of
waste rock to be mined as compared to the PEA.
During the years 2015 to 2026, the concentrate production will be approximately
5 Mtpa, and will then gradually drop off during the remaining 4 years. Northland
is planning to finalize a DFS on the Pellivuoma deposit in 2011. The addition of
Pellivuoma is expected to be phased into the production schedule in order to
maintain a production of around 5 Mtpa from Kaunisvaara. This has the potential
to add 4 to 5 years, depending upon the results of the DFS for Pellivuoma.
Product Pricing & Marketing
Northland has taken a conservative approach to product pricing. Raw Materials
Group of Sweden ("RMG") provided the price forecast. Our Base Case in the DFS
was based on their high price scenario for Carajas pellet feed delivered to
markets in Asia, North Africa and Europe. Even their high price scenario should
be considered very robust and conservative since they assumed that the market
will be balanced long-term, as opposed to other analysts, who are assuming that
supply will have difficulties keeping up with the growing demand.
Northland believes that it will produce a product with additional value in use
("VIU"). The Kaunisvaara concentrate is a high-grade magnetite pellet feed,
grading 69% Fe with low impurities (0.046% Sulphur, 1.10% Silica, 0.18% Alumina,
0.04% Phosphor, 2.65% Magnesium Oxide).The main advantages include:
-- Ready ground for use in pelletizing. No additional material preparation
such as dry grinding is necessary.
-- Energy from the magnetite oxidation lowers the pellet plant fuel
consumption.
-- Low silica and alumina lead to lower flux additions and lower energy
consumption in electric arc and blast furnace ironmaking.
-- High MgO content replaces other fluxes used in pelletizing and
ironmaking.
-- Low in harmful trace impurities including K, Na, P and V.
-- Significant reduction in CO2 emissions by replacing fluxes and energy.
RMG believes that all these factors could generate a potential VIU of 6.9 US
cents per dry metric tonne unit ("US c/dmtu").
In addition, the Kaunisvaara concentrate will have a lower shipping cost per
iron unit because of the higher iron content and the lower moisture.
The chart below provides a comparison of RMG's long-term price forecast for iron
ore concentrate used in the DFS and an estimate of the Chinese marginal
production cost, which can be considered as a floor in iron ore pricing service.
Recent analyses presented at the 5th EU Iron Ore Insight Conference indicate
that the FOB cash cost for the Chinese iron ore production, representing the top
end of the global cost curve, will during the next 4 - 5 years reach 140 USD/dmt
for a 62% Fe product, corresponding to an FOB price Narvik of about 156 c/dmtu,
excluding any VIU-premium. That cost shall be considered the floor below which
the price cannot fall without affecting the global supply negatively.
To view the DFS Price Forecast, please click on the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/n926.pdf
Sensitivity Analysis
Based on the RMG high price forecast, Northland applied these numbers to a
financial model which included financing and taxes. This is defined as the Base
Case Scenario.
-- The Project has a potential NPV of MUSD 463 at a discount rate of 8% and
an IRR of 18.8%, based on cash flows after interest and tax.
-- The potential NPV before interest and taxes is MUSD 774 and the IRR is
24.7%.
-- The payback period is expected to be 4.9 years from the first production
of concentrate from the Project.
-- The financial model is based on an USD:SEK exchange rate of 1:8.125,
unchanged from the PEA.
The following sensitivity analysis which is after interest and taxes has been
run using an 8% discount rate, while keeping all other variables in the Base
Case the same.
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NPV M IRR Payback
USD % Max Cash Req M USD years
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Base Case 463 18.8 583 4.9
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Increase Price 10% 661 22.4 561 4.4
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Decrease Price 10% 265 14.8 608 5.8
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Increase CAPEX 10% 400 16.8 661 5.4
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Decrease CAPEX 10% 535 21.6 504 4.5
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Increase OPEX 10% 345 16.4 599 5.4
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Decrease OPEX 10% 581 21.1 568 4.6
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Increase USD vs. SEK 10% 589 21.9 530 4.5
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Decrease USD vs. SEK 10% 311 15.3 646 5.7
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Permitting
The Swedish-Finnish Border River Commission has approved the environmental
permit for the Tapuli mine and the Kaunisvaara mill (see press release August
20, 2010).
An Exploitation Concession application for the Sahavaara deposit was filed with
the Chief Mine Inspector in November 2009. The application is in the final
stages of the approval process. Subject to its approval, an Environmental Permit
Application for Sahavaara, which contemplates an open pit operation and ore
treatment at the Kaunisvaara mill, will be filed at the Environmental Court in
Sweden.
An Exploitation Concession application for Pellivuoma will be completed as soon
as sufficient information on the mineral resource is available. The Pellivuoma
area is included in a comprehensive environmental baseline study, covering the
entire Kaunisvaara area. This should allow for a quick-start of the
environmental application process. It is assumed that Pellivuoma ore will be
processed in the Kaunisvaara mill.
The Kaunisvaara area is subject to a proposal from the Swedish Geological Survey
as being of "national interest for mineral production". This is expected to
facilitate the permitting process.
Resources and Reserves
The Mineral Resource Statement generated by SRK (see press release April 16,
2010) has been restricted to all classified material falling within an optimized
pit shell at Tapuli and Sahavaara, using a metal price of 110 US cents/dmtu for
magnetite concentrate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resource Tonnes FE CAO
Domain Category (Mt) Total % S % SIO2 % MGO % AL2O3 % % P % MN %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAPULI Measured 52.8 27.02 0.23 25.31 17.90 2.10 6.31 0.07 0.08
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Indicated 54.6 25.04 0.24 28.63 17.05 2.05 8.72 0.05 0.11
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Meas+Ind 107.4 26.01 0.23 26.99 17.47 2.08 7.53 0.06 0.09
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Inferred 24.7 24.58 0.23 28.53 17.75 2.00 7.80 0.06 0.10
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SAHAVAARA Measured 30.2 42.96 2.66 14.85 14.43 1.32 1.61 0.07 0.10
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Indicated 56.6 38.14 1.55 20.08 14.73 1.32 4.02 0.05 0.12
------------------------------------------------------------------
Meas+Ind 86.8 39.82 1.93 18.26 14.63 1.32 3.18 0.06 0.11
------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 34.7 37.28 1.44 20.99 15.21 1.20 4.13 0.04 0.11
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TOTAL Measured 83.0 32.82 1.11 21.50 16.64 1.82 4.60 0.07 0.09
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Indicated 111.2 31.71 0.91 24.28 15.87 1.68 6.33 0.05 0.12
------------------------------------------------------------------
Meas+Ind 194.2 32.18 0.99 23.09 16.20 1.74 5.59 0.06 0.10
------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 59.4 32.00 0.94 24.13 16.27 1.53 5.66 0.05 0.11
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As a direct result of the DFS design work, a Mineral Reserve statement has been
generated by SRK for the project based on the above Mineral Resource Statement,
utilizing only the material reported as Measured and Indicated Mineral
Resources. The operating costs assumed for the optimization are based on
discussions between Northland and SRK with metallurgical recoveries predicted by
laboratory test work.
Engineered pit designs were developed from optimised shells and the following
reserve table was generated.
Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves for Tapuli and Sahavaara
----------------------------------------------------
DEPOSIT RESERVE CLASSIFICATION TONNES Fe Grade (%)
----------------------------------------------------
TAPULI Proven 52Mt 27.04
------------------------------------------
Probable 49Mt 25.11
----------------------------------------------------
SAHAVAARA Proven 30Mt 42.96
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Probable 45Mt 40.01
----------------------------------------------------
Total Proven 82Mt 32.86
----------------------------------------------------
Total Probable 94Mt 32.24
----------------------------------------------------
Total 176Mt 32.53
----------------------------------------------------
SRK's resource and reserve statements are presented in accordance with the
definitions and guidelines of the CIM Standards for reporting Mineral Resources
and Reserves (the CIM Code).
Mining at Tapuli is expected to consist of a conventional shovel and truck open
pit operation, moving approximately 35 million tonnes of ore and waste per year
at peak production. Crusher feed will be hauled to the pit rim, crushed and
transported by conveyor to the processing plant.
The Sahavaara open pit is located 4 km to the south of Tapuli. Mining is
expected to consist of a conventional shovel and truck open pit operation,
moving approximately 44Mt of ore and waste per year at peak production. Crusher
feed will be hauled to the pit rim, crushed and then transported by conveyor to
the processing plant.
Mineral Processing for Tapuli, Sahavaara and Pellivuoma
Process development work in several campaigns has been conducted on all the
resources by the Northland staff and consultants and the resulting process flow
sheets have been confirmed by pilot plant programmes. The two Kaunisvaara
process lines are engineered based on verified scale up procedures to make the
processing simple, reliable and flexible to accommodate feed ore variability.
The requirement to minimize the operation cost (and hence optimization of the
overall cost per tonne product), resulted in very few comminution stages.
The processes are based on primary crushing at the mine sites and transport by
overland conveyors to the Kaunisvaara beneficiation plant, which includes the
primary grinding plant using Autogenous or Semi-Autogenous Grinding mills. The
first separation stage consists of wet cobbing (with low-intensity magnetic
separators ("LIMS"), which are expected to reject a substantial portion as a
waste material with minimal loss of iron units. The cobbing magnetic concentrate
is then ground by stirred mills to a size suitable for final stage magnetic
separation, again using LIMS.
The Tapuli ore will not require further processing to achieve the high-grade
concentrate, which will be dewatered by pressure filtration and readied for
transportation by road to the rail head. After thickening to recover process
water, the tailings slurry will be combined with the cobbing paste and tailings
from other ore processing and this pumped to a tailings disposal area.
In order to achieve the concentrate target quality, the feed from Sahavaara
requires further upgrading by removing sulphide minerals using flotation
techniques. The concentrate will be initially dewatered and further upgraded by
a final LIMS stage. Final dewatering will be done by pressure filtration after
blending of the concentrate with the Tapuli product. The combined product, which
is ready for pelletizing by customers without further grinding, will be
transported by road to the rail head at Svappavaara. Waste material processing
is the same as for Tapuli. The waste management area will ultimately be covered
by essentially inert material.
Infrastructure and Logistics
Transport costs for the iron ore concentrate from the mine to the end customer
are crucial to the feasibility of the project. Therefore Northland, in
cooperation with Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish transport authorities, has spent
a lot of effort in finding the best possible transport solution. Since the PEA
was published in September 2009, new findings have showed that shipping from
Narvik is a more cost-efficient alternative than shipping from Kemi port. Narvik
is a deep-water port with ice-free conditions for large Cape-Size vessels (above
150,000 dwt) compared to Kemi which can only handle Handy-Max vessels of 55,000
dwt.
The current logistics option includes:
-- Truck transportation from Kaunisvaara to Svappavaara for reloading to
railway wagons
-- Rail transportation from Svappavaara to Narvik on the railway track
'Malmbanan' - currently used for iron ore transport by other operations
in the region
-- Use the Fagernes terminal in Narvik as a temporary solution (5-6 years)
and the Company is working with the Municipality to find a long-term
terminal solution
At present, the costs associated with the logistics, such as road, trucking and
shipping from Kaunisvaara to Narvik, have not been completed at the DFS level of
accuracy, and work is ongoing to confirm the estimated costs presented above.
Financing
Northland is actively seeking financing which is likely to be some combination
of equity and debt, financing from off-takers and equipment lease facility.
The DFS technical report will be filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and Northland's
website www.northland.eu within 45 days.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Karl-Axel Waplan, President and Chief Executive Officer
Northland Resources S.A.
Aker Solutions
Mike Butler, MIMMM, Associate Director
SRK Consulting
Howard Baker
Duncan Pratt
Bo Arvidson Consulting
Bo Arvidson
Poyry
Per Lundstrom
Raw Materials Group
Magnus Ericsson
ERM Consulting
Wayne Holden
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of
securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact relating to the
Company, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking
information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information
includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to mineral reserve and
resource estimates; the ability to realize estimated mineral reserves and to
convert mineral resources into mineral reserves; terms and costs of future
exploration; mineralization projections; receipt of all necessary approvals; the
parameters and assumptions underlying the mineral resource estimates and iron
ore prices. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect",
"is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends",
"anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such
words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may",
"could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management
as of the date such statements are made. Estimates regarding the mineral
resources, as outlined above and in the technical report, have been based on
knowledge of company management and the knowledge and experience of third party
experts. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of Northland Resources S.A. to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information. Although management of Northland Resources S.A. has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors
that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be
no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking information. Northland Resources S.A. does not undertake to
update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable
securities laws.
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