New Millennium Iron Corp. Announces Tata Steel Minerals Canada's Positive Agreements with Labrador Iron Mine Holdings Limited for Its Direct Shipping Ore Project
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/12/13 -- NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO US NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
New Millennium Iron Corp. ("NML" or the "Corporation") (TSX: NML) announced today that Tata Steel Minerals Canada ("TSMC"), in which NML has a 20% interest, has entered into a multi-faceted framework agreement with Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited ("LIM") that favourably impacts the Direct Shipping Ore ("DSO") Project owned and operated by TSMC. The agreement involves cooperation in transport and port infrastructure development as well as transactions for development of LIM's Howse deposit and TSMC's Timmins 4 deposit. Both companies will enjoy the benefit of cost synergies from the rationalization of various aspects of their respective iron ore operations. The companies intend to enter into definitive agreements to formalize this agreement in due course.
Dean Journeaux, President and CEO of NML, said, "The framework agreement provides operating efficiencies for both companies, resulting in a 'win-win' outcome. By co-operating together, both companies stand to achieve substantial savings through economies of scale. For TSMC, acquisition of 51% and possibly 70% of the Howse deposit will result in a net addition of resources located only about four kilometers from the year-round processing plant site that TSMC is now constructing in the Timmins area."
Summary of Agreements
The multi-part cooperation agreements are summarized as follows:
-- The companies agreed to cooperate to develop the rail line that will
start near TSMC's Timmins Area processing plant and go through LIM's
Silver Yard facilities to the TSH main line.
-- The companies shall also coordinate their respective participation in
developing infrastructure at the Port of Sept-Iles with the objective of
establishing common access and terminal facilities to the Port's new
deep sea multi-user dock.
-- The companies have agreed to enter into transactions regarding the
development of LIM's Howse deposit and TSMC's Timmins 4 deposit. The
Howse deposit, containing 28 million tonnes of historical resources, is
four kilometers from TSMC's Timmins processing plant. TSMC will acquire
a 51% interest in LIM's Howse deposit, and LIM may earn up to a 100%
interest in TSMC's Timmins 4 deposit having resource of 1.7 million
tonnes to LIM for consideration of $3 million recoverable from sales.
-- As part of the proposed agreement, and subject to fulfillment of certain
conditions precedent, LIM will receive a cash injection of $30 million.
In future, TSMC has an option to infuse up to C$ 25 million in the Howse
project to further increase its interest in the Howse deposit to 70%.
About New Millennium
The Corporation controls the emerging Millennium Iron Range, located in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and in the Province of Quebec, which holds one of the world's largest undeveloped magnetic iron ore deposits. In the same area, the Corporation and Tata Steel Limited, one of the largest steel producers in the world, are advancing a DSO Project to near term production. Tata Steel Limited owns approximately 26.3% of New Millennium and is the Corporation's largest shareholder and strategic partner.
Tata Steel exercised its exclusive option to participate in the DSO Project and has a commitment to take the resulting production (see news release 10-16 dated September 14, 2010). The DSO Project is owned and operated by TSMC, which in turn is 80% owned by Tata Steel and 20% owned by NML. The DSO Project contains 64.1 million tonnes of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves at an average grade of 58.8% Fe, 21.0 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at an average grade of 59.2% Fe, 10.3 million tonnes of Inferred Resources at an average grade of 58.3% Fe and about 25.0 - 30.0 million tonnes of historical resources that are not currently in compliance with NI 43-101 (see news release 09-03 dated February 11, 2009, news release 09-05 dated March 4, 2009, news release 09-16 dated December 9, 2009, news release 10-12 dated July 8, 2010 and news release 12-14, dated May 31, 2012). A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, the Corporation is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.
The Millennium Iron Range currently hosts two advanced projects: LabMag contains 3.5 billion tonnes of Proven and Probable reserves at a grade of 29.6% Fe plus 1.0 billion tonnes of Measured and Indicated resources at an average grade of 29.5% Fe and 1.2 billion tonnes of Inferred resources at an average grade of 29.3% Fe (see news release 06-13 dated July 5, 2006 and news release 07-11 dated July 17, 2007); KeMag contains 2.1 billion tonnes of Proven and Probable reserves at an average grade of 31.3% Fe, 0.3 billion tonnes of Measured and Indicated resources at an average grade of 31.3 % Fe and 1.0 billion tonnes of Inferred resources at an average grade of 31.2% Fe (see news release 09-01 dated January 16, 2009). Tata Steel also exercised its exclusive right to negotiate and settle a proposed transaction in respect of the LabMag Project and the KeMag Project (see news release 11-09 dated March 6, 2011).
The Millennium Iron Range now hosts other taconite deposits. The first is the Lac Ritchie property located at the north end of the Range. The initial 2011 drilling of 40 holes in this property revealed Indicated Resources of 3.330 billion tonnes at an average grade of 30.3% Fe, and Inferred Resources of 1.437 billion tonnes at an average grade of 30.9% Fe (see news release NR 12-11, dated April 02, 2012).
Two other taconite deposits are located south of the LabMag deposit in the Millennium Iron Range. The initial 2012 drilling of 23 holes in the Sheps Lake property and of 50 holes in the Perault Lake property revealed Indicated Resources of 3.580 billion tonnes at an average grade of 31.22%, and Inferred Resources of 795 million tonnes at an average grade of 30.56% (see news release NR 13-04, dated February 11, 2013).
The Corporation's mission is to add shareholder value through the responsible and expeditious development of the Millennium Iron Range and other mineral projects to create a new large source of raw materials for the world's iron and steel industries.
For further information, please visit www.NMLiron.com, www.tatasteel.com, www.tatasteelcanada.com, and www.tatasteeleurope.com.
Dean Journeaux, Eng., and Thiagarajan Balakrishnan, P. Geo., are the Qualified Persons as defined in National Instrument 43-101 who have reviewed and verified the scientific and technical mining disclosure contained in this news release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management of the Corporation's expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, success of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words 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" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
Such factors include, among others, risks related to actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of resources; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Corporation's interim and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking 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 statements.
Contacts:
New Millennium Iron Corp.
Dean Journeaux
President & Chief Executive Officer
(514) 935-3204
New Millennium Iron Corp.
Andreas Curkovic
Investor Relations
(416) 577-9927
