IRON ORE: Joint venture to develop Howse deposit

LABRADOR – Labrador Iron Mines Holdings of Toronto and Tata Steel Minerals Canada of Montreal have finalized their joint venture for the exploration and development of LIM's Howse iron ore deposit near Schefferville, QC.

The Howse deposited, located in Labrador about 25 km north of LIM's James iron ore mine and Silver Yards processing facility, has a historical resource of 28 million tonnes at a grade of 58% Fe. The location of the deposit is also adjacent to TSMC's direct shipping ore (DSO) project and new processing plant.

The joint venture will be 49% owned by LIM and 51% by Howse Minerals Ltd, a subsidiary of TSMC. For its interest, TSMC has paid $30 million to LIM. LIM will conduct a $5-million, 70-hole exploration of the Howse deposit by the end of 2013. A 43-101 report will then be compiled, and Tata will contribute the next $23.5 million to the joint venture and bring its interest in the Howse deposit up to 70%.

Production could start as early as 2016.

More details about the joint venture are available in the news release dated Sept. 18, 2013, and posted at LabradorIronMines.ca.