C'mon O'Keeffe, push that re-start button.

2017-06-20 08:41 ET - News Release

Mr. Michael O'Keeffe reports

CHAMPION IRON SUBSIDIARY QUEBEC IRON ORE SIGNS RAIL TRANSPORTATION CONTRACT WITH QUEBEC NORTH SHORE AND LABRADOR RAILWAY COMPANY

Champion Iron Ltd.'s subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore Inc. (QIO) has entered into a transportation agreement with the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway Company Inc. (QNS&L) for the transportation of iron ore concentrate which would be generated from QIO's Bloom Lake iron mine, located near Fermont, Que.

The agreement provides that iron ore concentrate from QIO's Bloom Lake property will be carried on the QNS&L railway from the Wabush Lake Junction in Labrador City, Nfld., to the Sept-Iles junction in Sept-Iles, Que., a distance of approximately 400 kilometres.

Michael O'Keeffe, chairman and chief executive officer of Champion and QIO, said: "We are very pleased to have signed a confidential rail transport agreement with QNS&L, a proven and well-recognized rail transporter. This agreement will ensure long-term access to some of the world's largest consumers of iron ore for our future high-quality product. The signing of this rail transport agreement also marks yet another significant milestone in the Bloom Lake restart."

About Bloom Lake

On April 11, 2016, the company, through its subsidiary QIO, acquired the Bloom Lake assets from affiliates of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. that were subject to restructuring proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada). Quebec Iron Ore Inc. is 63.2 per cent owned by the company, with the remaining 36.8-per-cent equity interest owned by Ressources Quebec, acting as a mandatory of the government of Quebec.

The Bloom Lake property is located on the south end of the Labrador Trough, approximately 13 km north of Fermont, Que., and 10 km north of the Mount-Wright iron ore mining operation of ArcelorMittal Mines Canada. The Bloom Lake mine is an open-pit truck-and-shovel operation, with a concentrator. From the site, iron concentrate can be transported by rail, initially on the Bloom Lake Railway, to a ship-loading port in Sept-Iles, Que.

The Bloom Lake mine has already been authorized for operation under the federal and provincial environmental authorities. The project was subject to an environmental impact assessment process under Section 31.1 of the Quebec Environment Quality Act, which led to the first decree issued by the Quebec government in 2008 authorizing mining activities at the Bloom Lake site. An updated positive feasibility study on Bloom Lake has been completed and is available under the company's profile on SEDAR.

About Champion Iron Ltd.

Champion is an iron development and exploration company, focused on developing its significant iron resources in the south end of the Labrador Trough in the province of Quebec. Following the acquisition of its flagship asset, the Bloom Lake iron ore property, the company's main focus is to implement upgrades to the mine and processing infrastructure it now owns while also advancing projects associated with improving access to global iron markets, including rail and port infrastructure initiatives with government and other key industry and community stakeholders.

Champion's management team includes professionals with mine development and operations expertise who also have vast experience from geotechnical work to greenfield development, brownfield management including logistics development and financing of all stages in the mining industry.

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