Champion Minerals Corporate Presentation November 21, 2011

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Building the Next Major Iron Ore Mine in the Labrador Trough Corporate Presentation November 2011 FSE: P02

Transcript of Champion Minerals Corporate Presentation November 21, 2011

Page 1: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Building the Next Major Iron Ore

Mine in the Labrador Trough Corporate Presentation

November 2011

FSE: P02

Page 2: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain information contained herein regarding Champion Minerals Inc., including

management’s assessment of future plans and operations, may constitute forward-looking

statements under applicable securities law and necessarily involve risks, including but not

limited to risks associated with mining exploration, operating costs, production costs, volatility

of share prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of resource and reserve estimates,

environmental risks and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources.

As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any forward

looking statements. Plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in any forward-looking

statements or information should not be read as guarantees of future results or events, and will

not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or when or by which such results or events

will be achieved.

Except as required by law, Champion Minerals Inc., expressly disclaims any intention and

undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements or information as conditions

change.

The historical mineral resources mentioned are strictly historical in nature and are non-

compliant to National Instrument 43-101 mineral resources and mineral reserves standards,

and should therefore not be relied upon. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to

upgrade or classify the historical mineral resources as current National Instrument NI-43-101

compliant.

Page 3: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

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Fermont Projects

The flagship project is Fire Lake North, which is currently in the

development stage

Over 2.2 billion tonnes of NI 43-101 compliant

iron ore resources

Champion Minerals holds an 82.5% direct interest, 3% NSR (C$3

million to buyback 1% of NSR)*

Attikamagen Property

Champion Minerals holds a

100% interest

Century Iron Mines Corp. has

option to earn up to a 60% interest

in the property by spending

C$13 million by May 2014**

Advanced iron ore exploration and development projects located in

Canada’s principal iron ore district, the Labrador Trough

About Champion Minerals

* Fancamp Exploration Ltd. holds remaining 17.5% interest.

** Announced investment by WISCO of 25% ($60M) and Minmetals of 5% ($12M)

Page 4: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Canada’s Next Iron Ore Mine

Fire Lake North (FLN) Development Project

PEA indicates ability to produce 8.7 million tonnes of concentrate per

annum for the first 25 years of a 40-year mine life the first five years will

average approximately 10 million tonnes of concentrate per annum

Net Present Value of $4 billion at a discounted cash flow rate of 8% with

an Internal Rate of Return of 41.5% and a payback period of 2.3 years

Updated FLN Mineral Resource Estimate in October 2011 for a total of 1.06

billion tonnes

− Measured and Indicated Resources of 400.1 million tonnes grading

30.6% total iron

− Inferred Resources of 661.2 million tonnes grading 27.7% total iron

Established Iron Ore District

Canada’s premier iron ore district Currently produces 44 mtpy of iron ore

concentrate, which is expected to grow to 200 mtpy of iron ore concentrate over

the next 10 years

Established rail, power and port infrastructure

- Commitment by Quebec’s Plan Nord to invest $80 billion over the next 25

years in northern Quebec infrastructure projects

- Competitive power rates (~ $0.04 - $0.045 negotiated price)

- Initiative for world-class port facilities underway

Proven Team

Strengthened the advisory board and the board of directors to include former

Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines management and officers

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Page 5: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Capital Structure

Share Data and Cash Position as of October 24, 2011.

Shares Outstanding 88.0 million

Warrants 6.9 million @ C$1.50

(450,000 @ C$1.15 expiring 04/2012

2.7 million @ C$1.50 expiring 04/2012

2.9 million @ C$1.50 expiring 10/2012, of which 75%

are owned by insiders and advisors.)

Options 11.0 million @ C$1.00

Fully Diluted Shares Outstanding 106.1 million

Market Capitalization

(based on $1.40 share price)

C$123.2 million

Cash Position C$22.0 million

Fully Diluted Cash Position C$43.5 million

Debt (Purchase of 17.5% Fermont Interest from

Sheridan Platinum Group)

C$0.5 million

Management Ownership ~ 8%

Analyst Coverage Canaccord Genuity

Fraser Mackenzie

Haywood Securities

Jennings Capital

Paradigm Capital

RBC Capital Markets

Salman Partners

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Page 6: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Experienced Management Team

Board of Directors Management Team

Tom Larsen

Chairman

Tom Larsen

President and CEO

Alexander Horvath, P.Eng.

Director

Alexander Horvath, P.Eng.

Executive Vice President, Exploration

Jean Depatie

Director

Martin Bourgoin, P. Geo.

Executive Vice President, Operations

Ashwath Mehra

Director

Jeff Hussey, P.Geo.

Executive Vice President, Development

Donald A. Sheldon, LLB., P.Eng.

Director

Bruce Mitton, P.Geo.

Vice President, Exploration

Paul Ankcorn

Director

Jean-Luc Chouinard, P.Eng.

Director of Projects

Francis Sauve

Director

Miles Nagamatsu, CA

Chief Financial Officer

Joseph S. C. Chan

Director

Jorge Estepa

Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer

Advisory Board: Richard Quesnel, Mick McMullen and Doug Bache

Project Finance Advisor: Marc Duchesne

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Over 200 years of combined exploration and mine operations experience

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-

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

China

Japan

Rest of theWorld

Global Steel Production Shows

Continued Demand for Iron Ore

China’s CAGR* is 9.88% over

the last 30 years vs. 2.30% for

total global steel production

over the same period.

Source: World Steel Association website

* Compound annual growth rate

Page 8: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Why Champion Minerals?

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Favourable Operating

Environment

• Established iron ore

mining district the

Labrador Trough

• Favourable tax

environment

(40% tax rebate on

exploration

expenditures)

• Access to low-cost

power and close to

rail and port

infrastructure

• Government

investment in

northern Quebec

$80 billion over the

next 25 years

Champion Minerals’

Competitive Advantage

• Portfolio of 17 iron

ore properties

(brownfields to

development)

• Development-stage

Fire Lake North

Project contains

coarse grained

specular hematite

easy to liberate

− Close to surface

− Deleterious

elements are

below industry

specifications

• Team of experienced

project developers

and mine builders

Page 9: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

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Three Ports/

Stockpile

Locations

Cartier

Private

Rail

QNS&L

Rail

Common

Carrier

Cluster 3

Cluster 2

High

Voltage

Power

Lines

St Lawrence Seaway

Rail Infrastructure

Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway (“QNS&L”)

QNS&L links to Sept-Iles and Pointe Noire

Bloom Lake and QNS&L railways are considered common carriers

Common carriers allocate capacity on a first-come, first-serve basis

Fire Lake North connection to Bloom Lake rail will require 62 km of new rail (November

2010 Preliminary Economic Assessment)

Alternative transportation/haulage options are under consideration eg. Fractional ownership of a made in Quebec rail solution through private-public partnership (PPP) being examined

Cartier Railway: Linked to Port-Cartier

Privately owned by ArcelorMittal

Adjacent to west of Fire Lake North

Cluster 1

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Multi-User Port Infrastructure Expanding to Meet Demand

Port of Sept-Iles

RTZ-IOC shipping facility

Pointe Noire

Cliffs Natural Resources shipping facilities

New multi-user port to be expanded in two phases: phase one expansion of 40-50 Mtpy and phase two expansion of 100 Mtpy

Port-Cartier

ArcelorMittal shipping facility

$2.1B expansion is underway and will include concentrator expansion with port and rail infrastructure upgrades

Located 62 km west of Sept-Iles

Pointe Noire

Sept-Iles

Courtesy of the Port de Sept Isles

China Max ship capacity 300kt

Page 11: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011
Page 12: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

500

meters

Moire Lake Project Exploration Upside

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Arc

elo

r Mitta

l Pro

pe

rty B

ou

ndary

• Recent drill results included 503

metres grading 31% total iron

(LM11-12 news release date)

• Potential to significantly increase

historical resources estimated at

101 million tonnes grading 31%

iron

• Hematite and magnetite

outcrops at surface

• Completing a 10,400 metre

program

• Mineral resource estimate due

Q4 2011

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Oil Can Project Exploration Upside

First three drill holes of 8,000 metres planned program intersected magnetite-

hematite iron formation from 191 metres to 402 metres in length

Drill hole OC11-02 intersected 401.5 metres grading 30.7% Total Iron including

a 213.5 metres interval grading 33.1% Total Iron

TABLE 1 - SELECTED* COMPOSITE ASSAY RESULTS (HOLES OC11-01 to OC11-03)

HOLE-ID HOLE LENGTH AZIMUTH DIP FROM TO INTERVAL** GRADE***

metres degrees degrees metres metres metres Total Fe%

OC11-01 396 260 -45 185.42 376.31 190.89 30.6

OC11-02 594 310 -45 188.53 590.03 401.50 30.7

including 246.86 460.40 213.54 33.1

OC11-03 372 250 -45 40.58 264.60 224.02 28.1

including 76.58 216.58 140.00 30.0

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661

947

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

MeasuredandIndicated(M&I)

Fermont Project Resource Base Current NI 43-101 Compliant Resources

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Over 2.2 billion tonnes of

NI 43-101 compliant iron ore resources

Project Bellechasse Fire Lake North Harvey Tuttle

Location Quebec, Canada Quebec, Canada Quebec, Canada

Grade 28.7% 30.6% (M&I)

27.7% (Inferred)

23.2%

Mineralization Magnetite Specular Hematite Magnetite

Historical

Resources

91 Mt @ 30.0% Iron 41 Mt @ 31.0% iron n/a

* 15 % cut-off grade

400

Page 15: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Fire Lake North Project

Development

Activities

Page 16: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

PEA indicates ability to produce 8.7 million tonnes of concentrate per annum for the first 25 years of a 40-year mine life the first five years will average almost 10 million tonnes of concentrate per annum

− Net Present Value of $4 billion at a discounted cash flow rate of 8% with an Internal Rate of Return of 41.5% and a capital payback period of 2.3 years.

Recent mineral resource update announced (October 6, 2011)

− Measured and Indicated Resources of 400.1 million tonnes grading 30.6% total iron

− Inferred Resources of 661.2 million tonnes grading 27.7% total iron

Metallurgy indicates coarse-grained ore with liberation grind size similar to RTZ/IOC and ArcelorMittal operations

Fire Lake North Project Growth through Development

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Above: High Grade - Coarse Specular

Hematite Above: Typical Quartz-Specular

Hematite-Magnetite Mineralization

Fire Lake North - Metallurgy

High grade and coarse grained deposits with higher grade zones (See Below Left)

Gravity separation is the typical beneficiation technique in the Fermont

mining camp; magnetic separation is not included in the current mill design

Deposits of quartz specularite iron ore are typical of the Fermont area

− Coarser grind (-850 microns / -20 mesh) (0.85mm) means that this product will

be sold as sinter feed that comprises 80% of the global iron ore market.

− The low deleterious element levels should command a premium price.

Page 18: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Fire Lake North Development Project

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Looking North

East Pit area: Section 2600 N

100 m

Hornblende

Iron Fm.

Lean Iron Fm.

Marble

Basement

New geological interpretation

from 2011 drilling for PEA update

November 2010 PEA

Sub-Vertical Zones were

interpolated

November 2010

PEA

Open Pit Outline

The new interpretation versus the initial PEA block model and open-pit outline

Page 19: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

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Based upon the following assumptions:

Key Results Pre-Tax Basis

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) (8% Discount Rate) 41.5%

Undiscounted Cash Flow US$10.9B

Net Present Value @ 5% Discounted Cash Flow US$5.6B

Net Present Value @ 8% Discounted Cash Flow US$4.0B

Net Present Value @ 10% Discounted Cash Flow US$3.2B

Payback Period (8% Discount Rate) 2.3 Years

Capital Costs:

Operating Costs:

Price assumptions:

Mine-Life:

Exchange rate:

Total Resources(1):

In Pit Resources

US$1,368 million (includes rail and port infrastructure)

US$51.01 per tonne (average 25 years);

US$39.46 per tonne (average years 1 to 5)

US$115 per tonne of concentrate at 65% Fe

40 years (average of 8.7 million tonnes/year for the first 25 years)

$1.00 USD to $1.00 CDN

400 million tonnes grading 30.6% Fe (NI43-101 Measured and Indicated Resources)

661 million tonnes grading 27.7% Fe (NI43-101 Inferred Resources)

921.8 million tonnes grading 28.8% Fe at an 8% cut-off grade

Fire Lake North Development Project November 2011 Preliminary Economic Assessment Update – Highlights

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OPERATING EXPENDITURES (US$/TONNE OF CONCENTRATE)

COST PARAMETERS AVERAGE 25 YEARS AVERAGE YEARS 1 TO 5

Mining 22.56 12.13

Concentrating, crushing and processing 4.52 3.97

Site infrastructure, sales and general administration 4.40 3.39

Environmental tailings and management 0.29 0.26

Rail transport 15.52 16.14

Port facilities 3.72 3.57

Total 51.01 39.46

Equipment Lease Cost (not included in above total) 1.67 5.17

Fire Lake North Project Preliminary Economic Assessment Study

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES (US$ MILLIONS)

COST CENTRES $ MILLIONS

Pre-stripping of open pit areas 97.5

Concentrator and site infrastructure including loadout facilities 682.3

Railway (62km distance and 94km total including turnaround loop and sidings) 228.8

Port Facilities: Railcar unloading, stacker/reclaimer, conveyors 96.8

Environmental and Tailings Management 27.9

Other Pre Production Costs 34.0

Sub-total 1,167

Contingency 201

Total 1,368

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Fire Lake North Timeline Development to Production Project Schedule

Diamond Drilling

Scoping Study

Feasibility Study

Environmental / Social Studies

Community Consultation

Permitting

Construction

Production

Q1

2011 2012

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q2 Q3 Q4

2014 2015

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2013

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Page 22: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

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Exploration Activities and

Development Milestones

Updated PEA on Fire Lake North Completed

Initial NI 43-101 Mineral Resource

Estimate for Moire Lake Q4 2011

Drilling at O’Keefe Purdy Project

(hematite target) Completed

Drilling at Oil Can Project (adjacent to

Fire Lake North) Ongoing

Metallurgical testing at Fire Lake North,

Bellechasse, Harvey Tuttle, Moire Lake,

O’Keefe Purdy and Oil Can Lake projects

Ongoing

Feasibility study on Fire Lake North Q2 2012

Page 23: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Why Invest in

Champion Minerals?

Quebec Government investment of $80 billion over

25 years (“Plan Nord”)

Fire Lake North is at development project

positive economics

17 highly prospective iron ore properties in Canada’s

established iron ore mining district

Experienced management team of project developers

and mine builders

Good cash position fully funded into 2012

Favourable tax environment

Access to low-cost power and close to rail and port

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Page 24: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Thank You

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Page 25: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

APPENDIX:

Exploration

Activities

2011 Exploration Program

Page 26: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

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Project 2011 Exploration Drilling

Program (metres) 2011 Development Plan 2011 Joint Venture Budget ($)

Fire Lake North 21,000 PEA +1,500 F/S MRE, PEA/FS 13,200,000

Moire Lake 9,300 MRE, PEA 5,500,000

Bellechasse 900 MRE 550,000

Harvey-Tuttle Deferred to 2012 -- --

O’Keefe -Purdy 5,900 MRE 3,500,000

Oil Can Lake 8,000 MRE, PEA 4,700,000

Midway 1,100 MRE 650,000

Hope Lake Deferred to 2012 -- --

Claire Lake Deferred to 2012 -- --

47,700 28,100,000

2011 Exploration Program Focused on resource definition and expansion at Fire Lake North

Drilling from the 2011 drilling programs will be used to conduct Mineral

Resource Estimates (MRE), to update the Preliminary Economic

Assessments (PEA) on Fire Lake North and to define the scope for a

Feasibility Study (FS)

Page 27: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Harvey Tuttle Project NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate:

717Mt @ 25% iron; magnetite rich

Intersected multiple significant iron

formation intervals in 2010 drill program

Total of 13,165m of drilling completed

Less than 50% of the kilometric scale

magnetic anomalies have been tested

Metallurgical tests underway

Located 25 km NW of Fire Lake North

Within conveying distance from Fire Lake

North planned concentrator (20-30km)

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Advanced Exploration

Bellechasse Project

NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate: 215Mt

@ 29% Iron; Magnetite Rich iron formation

Historical Resources increased from 91Mt

remaining upside potential.

5,000-metre drill program underway

Page 28: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

O’Keefe Purdy Project: Drilling Underway Exploration Upside

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• Historical Resources of 51 Mt @ 37% Iron

• Potential to double resources minimally with deposits listed above and

obvious untested iron formation strike length

• 2011 exploration program (3 drill rigs):10,000 metres of drilling planned

Page 29: Champion Minerals Corporate  Presentation November 21, 2011

Labrador Trough Annual Production Iron Ore Production Upside

Company Current Annual

Production

Projected

Annual Forecast

IOC/RTZ 17 mtpy 26 mtpy1

ArcelorMittal 13 mtpy 24 mtpy2

Cliffs Natural Resources

(Wuhan)

12 mtpy 28 mtpy

Labrador Iron Mines 2 mtpy 5 mtpy

Adrianna Resources (Wuhan) 0 50 mtpy

New Millennium (Tata) 0 27 mtpy

Century Iron Mines (Wuhan) 0 ~20 mtpy

Champion Minerals 0 ~8.7 mtpy

Alderon Iron Ore Corp. 0 ~16 mtpy

Total current and forecasted

production

44 ~ 200 mtpy

1. Possibility of expanding production up to 50 mtpy

2. Possibility of expanding production to 50 mtpy 29