Northland Resources Announces Second Quarter 2012 Results
Luxembourg, August 9, 2012 – Northland Resources S.A. (TSX: NAU, OSE: NAUR and NAUR R, Frankfurt: NPK – “Northland” or the “Company”) announced today its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012.
The President and CEO of Northland Resources S.A., Karl-Axel Waplan, made the following comments on the report for the second quarter of 2012:
“Construction of the Kaunisvaara project continued to advance according to the schedule during the second quarter, and we are confident that the Company will be able to start the production of a high-grade, high quality iron concentrate at the end of this year.
I am also pleased at the very positive response that we’ve had for employment at Northland Resources. We have succeeded in attracting competent and skilled employees for all open positions in the operational organization, which is expected to go live at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year.
On behalf of the Bond Trustee (“Norsk Tillitsmann”) the independent engineer, Turgis Consulting Ltd (“Turgis”) is conducting due diligence on our progress, forecasted capital expenditures, and estimated cost-to-completion. At the end of June, Turgis certified that the project is progressing according to the schedule. The cost-to-complete test allowed us to draw down USD 155 million from the USD 350 million Bond Loan Facility on July 2, 2012. We plan to conclude a second cost-to-complete test in order to enable the second drawdown at the end of August or early September 2012.
On September 25, 2012, the Company will host analysts, investors and media at a Capital Markets Day in London. We plan to discuss the latest developments at Kaunisvaara, the logistical chain from mine to port and provide more details on our capital expenditures for the project.”
Selected Quarterly and Annual Information USD m |
Q2 (3 months) ended Jun 30, 2012 |
Q2 (3 months)ended Jun 30, 2011 |
Q1-Q2 (6 months)ended Jun 30, 2012 |
Q1-Q2 (6 months)ended Jun 30, 2011 |
12 months ended Dec 31, 2011 |
Net Profit / (Loss) | (21.6) | (8.7) | (22.9) | 0.2 | (38.1) |
- per share, USD | (0.04) | (0.04) | (0.05) | 0.00 | (0.17) |
Mineral properties expenditures, Sweden | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.7 |
Mineral properties expenditures, Finland | 2.1 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 9.0 | 20.1 |
Mines under construction expenditures, Sweden and Norway | 165.2 | 25.1 | 251.9 | 38.0 | 180.2 |
Cash, end of period balance | 72.3* | 213.2 | 72.3* | 213.2 | 38.3 |
Number of Common shares | 514,178,899 | 225,483,899 | 514,178,899 | 225,483,899 | 226,628,899 |
* No Bond proceeds included
Outlook
Northland Resources is in the process of becoming a producer of iron ore during the fourth quarter of 2012. The Company aims to accomplish the following during 2012:
1. Complete the first stage of the construction of the Kaunisvaara project on time
2. Start production at Kaunisvaara in the fourth quarter
The Company expects to start production at the Tapuli Mine in the fourth quarter of 2012, with first concentrate in early 2013 and is forecast to ramp up to 4 million dry metric tonnes per annum (“dmtpa”) of concentrate by 2015, as production of ore from the Sahavaara Mine comes on stream in 2016. Production is expected to increase to 4.4 million dmtpa of high-quality concentrate as of 2017.
3. Complete the DFSs for Hannukainen and the Pellivuoma deposit
The Hannukainen and Pellivuoma DFSs are expected to be published end of 2012 and in early 2013, respectively.
A full version of the second quarter 2012 Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) and the Unaudited Interim Financial Statements has been posted on the Company’s website, http://www.northland.eu/en-us/investor-relations/financials today, August 9, 2012 and they will be available on www.sedar.com. Readers should be advised that the summarized communication presented in this press release is limited in its disclosure. It is not a suitable source of information for readers who are unfamiliar with the Northland Resources, and it is not in any way a substitute for reading the Unaudited Interim Financial Statements and MD&A because a reader relying on this summary alone might overlook decision critical information.
Coming Report Dates
November 14, 2012: Financial Statement and MD&A for Q3 2012
February 12, 2013: Financial Statement and MD&A for Q4 2012 and
Full-Year 2012
Capital Markets Day 2012
On September 25, 2012, Northland Resources S.A. will host a Capital Markets Day in London for analysts, investment managers and journalists. The program will include a strategic and financial update of the Company’s operation.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain statements contained in this MD&A and elsewhere constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made, and readers are advised to consider such forward-looking statements in light of the risks set forth below.
“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.