Northern Iron reports 114.0 metres at 39.06% Fe(2)0(3) from the drill program on Karas Property

VANCOUVER, Jan. 29, 2013 /CNW/ - Northern Iron Corp. ("Northern" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NFE) (OTCQX- NHRIF) (FRANKFURT: N8I) today reported the final assay results from the infill program on the Karas Property, Ear Falls, Northern Ontario.

Basil Botha, President and CEO of Northern Iron said; "We have continued to encounter high-grade magnetite mineralization during this drill program and we are looking forward to incorporating these results into the upcoming NI 43-101 resource calculation on the Karas property. The grades from this round of drilling are excellent and compare favourably with other iron ore projects in Canada and globally especially when one considers the project is year-round accessible by road with excellent infrastructure."

"The next step is to complete the drill program on the Griffith property during the summer of 2013, which will provide the necessary data required for the completion of an NI 43-101 resource calculation. Our goal is to put the past producing Griffith mine back into production. Additional ore for the mine can also be sourced from the neighbouring Karas property located 14 km from the Griffth mine."

A total of 14 holes were drilled on the Karas property for a total of 4,498 metres as part of the program aimed at infill drilling and the testing of additional targets for the final mineral resource estimation on the property. Assays were performed at SGS Lakeview (Ontario) using an iron ore assay package (XRF7C6) including sulphur.

Highlights of the drill programs on the Karas property

*True thickness to be determined.

The geological information in the news release has been verified by Raul Sanabria, P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person for Northern Iron Corp. under NI 43-101.

About Northern Iron Corp.

The Company is a 100% owner of five iron ore properties in the Red Lake district containing over 500 million tonnes of historical resources with grades ranging from 22% to 31% Fe. The Red Lake district is situated in an established mining area in Ontario, where the company has two near term development projects, the past producing Griffith mine and the Karas property.

A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources.

The Company is currently working towards the production of HBI, a transportable form of direct reduced iron. HBI is complementary and a viable metallic alternative to scrap steel. Quality scrap is a critical raw material in the steel making process. With the diminishing supply of quality scrap steel and ever increasing market demand, steel producers around the world will be looking to secure alternative supplies of metallic products.

As part of the business plan, the Company acquired the past producing Griffith mine, which produced pellets and sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron/DRI) from 1968 to 1986. The mine was owned and operated by STELCO and supplied pellets and sponge iron to the Hamilton and Nanticoke steel mills in Ontario. The metallurgy of the deposit has been proven over eighteen years of production.

Almost the entire transportation infrastructure is currently in place to both produce HBI and to ship produced HBI into the North American market via rail and lake barges and into Asian markets via rail through the port of Prince Rupert. Existing infrastructure includes all weather roads, 115kV power line, natural gas line, rail bed and port facilities.

The Company is focusing on de-risking the project by seeking out potential joint venture partners, off-take agreements or a combination thereof.

Cautionary Statement

The foregoing information may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the Company's plans and expectations. These plans, expectations, risks and uncertainties are detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with the TSX Venture Exchange and securities regulators. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Website: www.northernironcorp.com

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SOURCE Northern Iron Corp.