Truck agreement signed for the Kaunisvaara project
Luxembourg, September 6, 2012 – Northland Resources S.A. (TSX: NAU, OSE: NAUR and NAUR R, Frankfurt: NPK – “Northland” or the “Company”) announces that its contractor, Peab, has entered into a SEK 1.5 billion agreement with Scania Group (“Scania”) for the purchase of 400 truck-and-trailer combinations and services during a nine-year period. The rigs are optimised for gross weights of up to 90 tonnes.
Northland Resources is forecast to start production of high-grade iron ore concentrate in the fourth quarter of 2012, and to start shipping the product to its customers in early 2013. Peab, through its subsidiary Swerock, will be responsible for trucking Northland Resources’ iron ore product 150 km from the mine site in Kaunisvaara to Pitkäjärvi, where the product will be reloaded on rail wagons for further transportation to the deep- water and ice-free port in Narvik, Norway.
“This agreement between Scania and Swerock is very important for the success of our iron ore project in Kaunisvaara”, said Willy Sundling, Project Manager – Logistics at Northland Resources. “We can now rest assured that the deliverance of our high-quality product will commence as planned in the first quarter of next year”.
The agreement will commence in late 2012 and be effective until 2021. Besides delivering the truck combinations, Scania will be responsible for driver training and coaching, vehicle monitoring, maintenance, repairs, service and supplies. Scania has also agreed to meet Northland Resources’ requirement to continually reduce the cost per tonne transported during the nine year period. The products and the services are tailored to the mining industry’s very strict demands in respect of load capacity, uptime and delivery precision.
“Karl-Axel Waplan”
President & CEO, Northland Resources S.A.
For more information, please contact:
Karl-Axel Waplan, President and CEO: +46 705 104 239
Peder Zetterberg, Acting CFO, +46 708 652 120
Anders Antonsson, Vice President – Investor Relations: +46 709 994 970
Marguerite Manshreck-Head, Investors Relations,Canada: +1 647 224 7882
Or visit our website: www.northland.eu
Northland is a development-stage mining company with a portfolio of iron ore projects in northern Sweden and Finland. The Company’s Kaunisvaara Project will initially exploit two magnetite iron ore deposits in Sweden. The process will yield a high-grade, high-quality magnetite iron concentrate. The construction of the Kaunisvaara project in Sweden is well underway and mining is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2012. Northland has entered into off-take contracts for the entire production from Kaunisvaara over the next seven to ten years. The Company is also preparing a Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) for its Hannukainen Iron Oxide Copper Gold (“IOCG”) Project in Kolari, northern Finland and for its Pellivuoma deposit 15 km from the Kaunisvaara process plant.
Scania is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. Service-related products account for a growing proportion of the company’s operations, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective transport solutions and maximum uptime. Scania also offers financial services. Employing some 37,500 people, the company operates in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In 2011, net sales totalled SEK 87.7 billion and net income amounted to SEK 9.4 billion. Scania press releases are available on www.scania.com
Swerock, a subsidiary of Peab, an innovative construction and civil engineering company which combines the strengths of a large group with those of a local company's ability to create flexible solutions. Net sales 2011 were SEK 40 billion and the company employs approximately 15,000 people across the Nordic region. For more information, go to www.peab.com.