Northland Signs a USD 50 Million Bridge Financing for its Kaunisvaara Project

Luxembourg, December 21, 2011: Northland Resources S.A. (TSX: NAU, OSE: NAUR, Frankfurt: NPK - "Northland" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Standard Bank of South Africa Limited ("Standard Bank") for a short-term bridge loan of USD 50 million.

As part of the loan agreement, warrants exercisable into less than 1 percent of the total issued shares of the Company with an exercise price of CAD 1.06 per share will be issued to Standard Bank or an affiliate, subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The loan will be drawn down in two tranches. The Company intends to replace the bridge loan with a permanent financing package, to include all logistics, during the first quarter of 2012. 

"The agreement with Standard Bank secures financing for the budgeted Capex investments for the Kaunisvaara project, including logistics, until the end of the first quarter of 2012," said Karl-Axel Waplan, Northland's President and Chief Executive Officer. "During the first quarter of 2012, we intend to complete the ongoing process of securing the long-term financing required to bring the project into production during the fourth quarter of 2012. We continue to build a strong, long-term relationship with Standard Bank, both as a financial and as an off-take partner for our high-quality iron magnetite concentrate."

"Karl-Axel Waplan"                                                             
President & CEO, Northland Resources S.A.                                                   

For more information, please contact:
Karl-Axel Waplan, President and CEO: +46 705 104 239
Eva Kaijser, CFO, +46 709 320 901
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 exploit two magnetite iron ore deposits in Sweden. The process is expected to yield a high-grade, high-quality magnetite iron concentrate. The construction of the Kaunisvaara project is underway and production is planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2012. Northland has entered into industrial off-take contracts for the entire production from Kaunisvaara. The Company is also preparing a Definitive Feasibility Study for its Hannukainen Iron Oxide Copper Gold Project in Kolari, northern Finland. The results of the study are expected to be released in the first quarter of 2012.

Standard Bank Group is a global bank with African roots. It is South Africa's largest bank, distinguished by its extensive operations in 17 African countries. Outside the African continent, Standard Bank Group operations span to 13 countries, with an emerging market focus. Standard Bank has a long and successful history of trading physical commodities globally, and especially in Asia. The bank's commodity and emerging market expertise and ability to trade physical iron ore directly with customers in China via its local trading company, Standard Resources China, make it uniquely positioned to leverage global bulk commodity trade flows. Access to end-use customers through the bank's strong presence in China is supported by the bank's strategic alliance with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank which holds a 20% stake in Standard Bank.