Company Information for Northern Iron Limited

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ASX; NFE

Company Statement

Northern Iron is an Australian company headquartered in Perth which was formed to acquire the Sydvaranger Iron Project in northern Norway. Northern Iron intends to redevelop the Sydvaranger Iron Project to commence production of magnetite iron concentrate for supply into the European market. The Sydvaranger Iron Project encompasses:

Three magnetite deposits with JORC compliant resources (Bjørnevatn, Fisketind Øst, Kjellmannsåsen);
A further 20 prospects with known iron mineralisation, several of which have been mined previously; and
Various infrastructure requiring refurbishment including:
o         Primary crushers (subject to a purchase agreement);
o         Cobbing plant (subject to a purchase agreement);
o         Secondary and tertiary crushing building;
o         Concentrator facility including six mills and magnetic separators;
o         Rail facility and rolling stock; and
o         Ore storage silos.

Northern Iron’s development plan for the Sydvaranger Iron Project is based on utilising the existing infrastructure in order to commence production of a magnetite concentrate product as quickly as possible for the lowest capital cost. This strategy aims to provide investors in Northern Iron with direct exposure to iron ore prices within the next two years.

Current Operations

The Sydvaranger Iron Project consists of three magnetite iron deposits with JORC compliant resources (Kjellmannsåsen, Fisketind Øst and Bjørnevatn) and a further 20 prospects with known iron mineralisation located over a 12km strike length. The existing equipment and infrastructure to be refurbished at the site includes primary crushers and a cobbing plant (subject to a purchase agreement), a concentrator and various related infrastructure. Subject to the conditions outlined in this section, the redevelopment schedule envisages the recommencement of mining in the March quarter of 2009, followed by concentrate production in the June quarter of 2009. The critical path items for the restart of operations include the delivery and installation of three primary mills, the delivery of the mining fleet and the receipt of all permits and approvals required for mining and production, including government approval for the submarine disposal of tailings in Bjørkfjorden.
Northern Iron has begun preparatory work for the redevelopment, including exploration drilling and planning for the refurbishment of the concentrator and crushers. Negotiations with a mineral processing company to carry out the refurbishment activities and to supply the new equipment have commenced. This work is ongoing and orders for the long lead items are expected to be placed in the December quarter of 2007 and March quarter of 2008.
Northern Iron has designed pits for each of the three deposits that have JORC compliant resources and has produced a mine schedule based on these mineral inventories. This has enabled an estimate of the mine fleet requirements to be completed, which will be used to negotiate equipment deliveries from suppliers.
The Sydvaranger Iron Project has an estimated mine life of 19 years at an annual production rate of 7 Mtpa of mill feed. After processing, this is expected to produce approximately 2.9Mtpa of magnetite concentrate. Northern Iron considers there to be strong potential to increase both the throughput and mine life at Sydvaranger through:

the conversion of known iron mineralisation to JORC compliant resources;
the conversion of the existing mineral inventory to a JORC compliant reserve;
the discovery of additional mineral inventory; and
open pit and underground mining studies.

Subject to approvals being in place, potential exists to recommence production on a smaller scale prior to the June quarter 2009 by using the existing mills on site.

Geographical Spread

Norway

Board of Directors and Key Management

Neil Douglas Hamilton	(Non-Executive Chairman)
Mick McMullen	(Managing Director)
Peter Steiness Larsen	(Non-Executive Director)
Peter Ross Bilbe	(Non-Executive Director)
Felix Tschudi	(Non-Executive Director)
Ashwath Mehra	(Non-Executive Director)
David Charles Griffiths	(Non-Executive Director)

Company Address

Level 3, 3 Ord Street
West Perth, Australia 6005


Telephone:	+61 (08) 93219334
Facsimile:	+61 (08) 93219334
Email:	info[at]northerniron.com.au
Website:	http://www.northerniron.com.au

Capital

165 million fully paid shares and 4.3 million options as at 13 December

Year End

31 December

Major Shareholders

Tschudi Mining AS – 51.5%

Ashwath Mehra – 6%

Mick McMullen – 3%

Most Recent Statement

11/09/08 - Interim Financial Report - 30 June 2008
11/09/08 - INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORT 30 JUNE 2008
29/07/08 - Quarterly Report for the period ending 30 June 2008
24/07/08 - Award of Mine Fleet Supply Contracts and Fleet Finance
30/04/08 - March 2008 Quarterly Report
13/03/08 - Inaugural Resource Estimate for Tverrdalen Deposit

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