Black Iron Ranked by CRU as the Lowest Cost Pellet Feed Iron Ore Development Project

TORONTO, May 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Iron Inc. (“Black Iron” or the “Company”) (TSX:BKI) (OTC:BKIRF) (FRANKFURT:BIN) is pleased to announce the positive results of a study commissioned by Black Iron to determine the Company’s position on the global business cost curve and capital intensity in the context of new development iron ore projects. CRU Group (“CRU”), an internationally recognised top global business intelligence provider and consultancy specializing in commodities, was commissioned to complete this study. Some of the main conclusions from this study are:

• Black Iron’s Shymanivske project (the “Project” or “Shymanivske”) is ranked in the lowest position of the business cost curve for pellet feed projects currently under development; and
• the Project’s capital intensity (i.e. construction capital divided by annual production) of only $95/ tonne, ranked second lowest out of the projects in CRU’s extensive database.

CRU’s independent study shows that Black Iron’s projected operating and construction capital costs coupled with the high-quality product expected to be produced by Black Iron position the Company well in the global iron ore market. As seen in the figure below, Black Iron is very strongly positioned on the pellet feed project business cost curve at the bottom of the first quartile. Business costs include site costs (i.e. FOB operating costs) plus freight, marketing, finance, value in use adjustment and sustaining capital. The site costs for the Project of $31/ tonne were taken from the Company’s National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report entitled “Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Re-scoped Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit” effective November 21, 2017 (the “PEA”), with other components calculated and estimated by CRU to ensure consistency across all assets included in the curve. Please see the Company’s press release dated November 21, 2017 for a summary of the assumptions used in the PEA.

Pellet feed market report: http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/304d817e-9617-4264-bfb8-c4344282255c

The Project is located Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, a highly developed iron ore mining region with well-established infrastructure. The Company’s proximity and access to major infrastructure including paved roads, railway, powerlines and port as well as highly skilled low-cost labour force allow for a phased development approach at significantly reduced initial capital requirements. As seen in the figure above, Shymanivske’s capital intensity of US$95/tonne places the Project as one of the lowest, based on this cost definition, within CRU’s extensive data base of projects considered. Again, this factor supports the highly desirable nature of the Project and the top positioning of Black Iron as compared to other iron ore projects currently under development.

Matt Simpson, Black Iron’s CEO, commented: “The CRU Group study confirms the feedback we have received from the steel industry following the release of our PEA in November 2017. The Shymanivske project has a very attractive cost structure and an expected ideal product quality to meet future requirements of the global steel industry who are facing increasingly stringent environmental regulation. We are seeing strong interest from around the world in our project.”

Cautionary Statement

The PEA is preliminary in nature, and it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

About Black Iron
Black Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company, advancing its 100% owned Shymanivske project located in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. The Shymanivske project contains a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimated to be 646 Mt Measured and Indicated mineral resources, consisting of 355 Mt Measured mineral resources grading 31.6% total iron and 18.8% magnetic iron, and Indicated mineral resources of 290 Mt grading 31.1% total iron and 17.9% magnetic iron, using a cut-off grade of 10% magnetic iron. Additionally, the Shymanivske project contains 188 Mt of Inferred mineral resources grading 30.1% total iron and 18.4% magnetic iron. Full mineral resource details can be found in the NI 43-101 compliant technical report entitled “Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Re-scoped Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit” effective November 21, 2017 under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Shymanivske project is surrounded by five other operating mines, including ArcelorMittal's iron ore complex. Please visit the Company's website at www.blackiron.com for more information.

The technical and scientific contents of this press release have been prepared under the supervision of and have been reviewed and approved by Matt Simpson, P.Eng., CEO of Black Iron, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

For more information, please contact:

Matt Simpson
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +1 (416) 309-2138
info@blackiron.com

Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, opinions and estimates of the date such statements are made based on information available to them at that time, including those factors discussed in the section entitled ‘‘Risk Factors’’ in the Company’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2017 or as may be identified in the Company’s public disclosure from time to time, as filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Project, the accuracy of the findings of CRU’s study, the mineralization of the Project, the results of the PEA, the realization of the PEA, the expectations of future cash flows, the expected economics forecast, the geo-political climate in Ukraine, the Company’s ability to obtain the requisite land rights for the Project and other requisite permits or approvals, and future plans for the Company’s development. 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 state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". 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 the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company 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 information 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. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.