Northland Applies for Environmental Permit for the Sahavaara Mine
LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG -- (Marketwire) -- 12/07/10 -- Northland Resources S.A. (TSX: NAU)(FRANKFURT: NPK)(OSLO: NAUR) ('Northland' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that it has submitted an application to the Environmental Court in Umea, Sweden for the environmental permit to operate the Sahavaara mine.
Three of the four key permits for the Kaunisvaara Iron Ore Project have already been granted; exploitation permits (according to the Mineral Law) for the Tapuli and Sahavaara deposits, and the operational permit for the Tapuli mine and the Kaunisvaara mill.
Northland has put substantial effort into the consultation process and the quality of this application which takes into account all aspects of sustainable development. In addition, it has been developed in parallel to and has provided important input into the development of the technical solutions for the project.
Northland believes that these efforts and the quality of the information provided in the application have the potential to result in a smooth and efficient process by the permitting authority. The application has been produced internally with contributions from leading environmental consultants. The Company believes that it meets the highest industry environmental standards and it looks forward to communicating details of the application during the continued permitting process.
The Sahavaara mine environmental impact assessment describes the logistics concept to the port of Narvik, and includes truck transport of the concentrate on highway, which itself is not subject to permitting. The logistics solution is subject to negotiations with the transport authority, as part of a bigger picture. An application for the use of heavier trucks than what is standard is a first and temporary step, while a railroad extension is the preferred long-term solution. These issues will not affect the overall project timing but provide opportunities both for the Kaunisvaara project and other potential projects in the region.
To facilitate the way forward for both the longer-term perspective as well as the practical steps in the shorter-term perspective, Northland has sent a formal letter to the Transportation Agency (Trafikverket) in the Northern Region. The Letter is requesting a joint procedure to secure the most efficient and best long-term solution, including possible development of a rail connection from Svappavaara (which is the closest railhead at the rail line today to Narvik port) to the Kaunisvaara site, as well as the short-term consideration for the transportation between the process plant in Kaunisvaara and the port of Narvik.
Northland is a development-stage mining company with a portfolio of iron projects in northern Sweden and Finland. Northland's Kaunisvaara Project contemplates the staged development of magnetite iron ore deposits that would provide feed to a single, multi-line processing facility in Sweden, producing a high-grade, high-quality magnetite iron concentrate. The results of the Feasibility Study on the Kaunisvaara Project were released September 27, 2010.
Karl-Axel Waplan, President & CEO
Northland Resources S.A.
Contacts:
Northland Resources S.A.
Karl-Axel Waplan
President and CEO
46 705 104 239
Northland Resources S.A.
Anders Hvide
Executive Chairman
47 92 88 98 58
Northland Resources S.A.
Eva Kaijser
Chief Financial Officer
46 70 932 09 01
Northland Resources S.A.
Marguerite Manshreck-Head
Investors Relations, Canada
1 647 224 7882
www.northland.eu