champion minerals corporate presentation sept 2011
TRANSCRIPT
Building the Next Major Iron Ore
Mine in the Labrador Trough Corporate Presentation
September 2011
FSE: P02
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING 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.
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Fermont Projects
Flagship project: Fire Lake North
- November 2010 PEA on Fire Lake North
demonstrated a viable project with an NPV of US$940
million on a 10% discounted cash flow basis using
US$81.4 per tonne of concentrate at 65%
1.55 billion tonnes of NI 43-101 compliant
iron ore resources at 25.4% iron
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)
Canada’s Next Iron Ore Mine
Advanced Project
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) update on the Fire Lake North Project is
underway and expected by the end of Q3 2011
Feasibility Study on Fire Lake North to be released in Q2 2012
On-going 60,000+ metre drill program in the Fire Lake North area
- 26,713 metres of drilling has been completed at the Fire Lake North Project, since
the release of the November 2010 PEA for a total of 32,308 metres drilled to date.
Established Iron Ore District
Canada’s premier iron ore district (i.e. ArcelorMittal, RTZ/IOC,
Cliffs Natural Resources)
Established rail, power and port infrastructure
- Commitment by Quebec’s Plan Nord to invest $80 billion over the next 25 years
Proven Team
Strengthened the advisory board and the board of directors – appointed Richard
Quesnel (formerly President and CEO of Consolidated Thompson) as senior
technical advisor and appointed Jean Depatie (formerly founder and director of
Consolidated Thompson) director. Also appointed Marc Duchesne (formerly Sr. VP of
Finance of Consolidated Thompson) as Project Finance Advisor.
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Strong Capital Structure
Share Data and Cash Position as of September 1, 2011.
Shares Outstanding 88.0 million
Warrants 6.9 million @ C$1.50
Options 8.4 million @ C0.85
Fully Diluted Shares Outstanding 103.5 million
Market Capitalization (based on $1.32 share price) C$116.2 million
Cash Position C$28.0 million
Fully Diluted Cash Position C46.5 million
Debt (Purchase of 17.5% Fermont Interest from
Sheridan Platinum Group)
C$0.5 million
Management Ownership ~ 8%
Analyst Coverage Canaccord Genuity
Jennings Capital
Haywood Securities
Paradigm Capital
RBC Capital Markets
Salman Partners
Experienced Management Team
Board of Directors Management Team
Tom Larsen
Chairman
Tom Larsen
President and CEO
Alexander Horvath, P.Eng.
Director
Alexander Horvath, P.Eng.
Executive Vice President, Exploration
Jean Depatie
Director
Martin Bourgoin, P. Geo.
Executive Vice President, Operations
Ashwath Mehra
Director
Jeff Hussey, P.Geo.
Executive Vice President, Development
Donald A. Sheldon, LLB., P.Eng.
Director
Bruce Mitton, P.Geo.
Vice President, Exploration
Paul Ankcorn
Director
Jean-Luc Chouinard, P.Eng.
Director of Projects
Francis Sauve
Director
Miles Nagamatsu, CA
Chief Financial Officer
Joseph S. C. Chan
Director
Jorge Estepa
Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer
Advisory Board: Richard Quesnel, Mick McMullen and Doug Bache
Project Finance Advisor: Marc Duchesne
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Over 200 years of combined exploration and mine operations experience
4.48
1.15
0.29 0.15 0.06
Labrador Iron
Mines
Northland
Resources
New Millenium
Capital
Champion
Minerals
Adriana
Resources
Comparable Companies Analysis
8.00
7.14
4.94
2.06
1.68
Northland
Resources
Adriana
Resources
Labrador Iron
Mines
New Millenium
Capital
Champion
Minerals
Note: Share price in exchange currency as at August 12, 2011 market close
(1) Labrador Iron Mines resources of 166Mt at 57.0% Fe includes historical resource estimate of 125Mt at 57.0% Fe which is non-NI 43-101 compliant
(2) Champion Minerals based on attributable resources; includes historical resource estimate of 613Mt at 30.5% Fe (100%) which is non-NI 43-101 compliant
(1)
EV / Contained Fe (US$/t) (EV+Capex) / Contained Fe (US$/t)
(2) (2)
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(1)
8 8 8
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”)
Linked to Sept-Iles and Pointe Noire ports
Capacity estimate = ~ 80-100 Mtpy
Capacity Demand = ~ 55-60 Mtpy Expansions: RTZ–IOC, Cliffs Bloom Lake and Wabush + 9 Mtpy of Schefferville DSO
Capacity Surplus = ~ 40 Mtpy
Fire Lake North connection to Bloom Lake rail will require 62 km of new rail (PEA 2010)
Bloom Lake and QNS&L railways are considered common carriers.
Cartier Railway: Linked to Port-Cartier
Privately owned by ArcelorMittal
Adjacent to west of Fire Lake North
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Multi User Port Infrastructure Expanding to Meet Demand
Three Deep Sea Ports Operating
Port of Sept-Iles
RTZ-IOC shipping facility
Pointe Noire
Cliffs Resources shipping facilities
New Multi-User Port:
Phase 1: 40-50 Mtpy $220M Phase 2: 100 Mtpy
Phase 1 planned completion March 31, 2014; announcement pending
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
215*
388*
947*
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000M
illio
ns o
f to
nn
es o
f ir
on
ore
Fermont Project Resource Base Current NI 43-101 Compliant Resources
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Converting historical estimates to NI 43-101
compliant mineral resources with
60,000+ metres of drilling planned in 2011
Project Bellechasse Fire Lake North Harvey Tuttle
Location Quebec, Canada Quebec, Canada Quebec, Canada
Grade 28.7% 28.9% 23.2%
Mineralization Magnetite Rich Specular Hematite Rich Magnetite Rich
Historical
Resources
91 Mt @ 30.0% Iron 41 Mt @ 31.0% iron n/a
* 15 % cut-off grade
Fire Lake North Project
Development
Activities
Completed a 26,713-metre drill program since 2010 PEA ; Positive initial PEA on 7 Mt per annum concentrate operation
A total of 32,380 metres completed to date
Mineral Resource Estimate Q3 2011
Metallurgical tests indicate a clean concentrate grading 65% iron
- Iron oxide at a coarse liberation grind size of (-850 microns) (0.85mm) similar to RTZ/IOC and ArcelorMittal operations
- Grinding tests are underway to better quantify concentrator production rate
PEA update expected Q3 2011
− Objective is to increase mine life to 25+ years and to reduce the strip ratio and associated operating expenses.
Rail and port infrastructure studies on-going
Release Feasibility Study in Q2 2012
Fire Lake North Rapid Project Development
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Fire Lake North Project Drillholes over 2nd vertical derivative magnetic response
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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 means that this product will be sold as sinter feed that comprises
80% of the global iron ore market.
− The low deleterious elemental levels should command a premium price.
Fire Lake North Development Project PEA update will include 26,000 metres of additional drilling
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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 will likely
contain increased in-pit resources and reduced strip ratios.
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Based upon the following assumptions:
Key Results Pre-Tax Basis
Net Present Value @ 5% US$1.64B
Net Present Value @ 10% US$0.94B
Internal Rate of Return 24.8%
Payback on Initial Capital @ 5% 2.8 Years
Capital Costs:
Operating Costs:
Price assumptions:
Mine-Life:
Exchange rate:
Total Resources(1):
In Pit Resources:
US$754 million (+ US$137 million, 20% contingency)
US$41.69 per tonne
US$81.40 per tonne of concentrate at 65% Fe
14 years at 7 million tonnes/year (In Pit Resources Only)
$1 USD to $1.10 CDN
388 million tonnes grading 29% Fe (NI43-101 Inferred Resources)
250 million tonnes grading 30.5% Fe in two pits
Fire Lake North Development Project November 2010 Preliminary Economic Assessment – Highlights
(1) Total Resource used a 15% Fe cut-off
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Fire Lake North Timeline Development to Production Project Schedule
• 26,713 metres of drilling has been completed at Fire Lake North since
the release of the November 2010 Preliminary Economic Assessment
(PEA) to date.
Diamond Drilling
Scoping Study
Feasibility Study
Environmental / Social Studies
Community Consultation
Permitting
Construction
Production
2011 2012
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2014 2015
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2013
Exploration
Activities
2011 Exploration Program
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PROJECT NAME 2011 EXPLORATION DRILLING
PROGRAM (metres) 2011 DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2011 JOINT VENTURE BUDGET ($)
Fire Lake North 21,000 MRE, PEA/FS 9,450,000
Moire Lake 9,600 MRE, PEA 4,320,000
Bellechasse 5,000 MRE, PEA 2,250,000
Harvey-Tuttle Lake 3,000 MRE, PEA 1,350,000
O’Keefe -Purdy 10,000 MRE, PEA 4,500,000
Oil Can Lake 8,000 MRE 3,600,000
Midway 3,000 MRE 1,350,000
Hope Lake 1,500 MRE 675,000
Claire Lake 1,500 MRE 675,000
60,000+ 28,170,000
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) and to define the scope for
a Feasibility Study (FS) with a centralized concentrator complex at Fire Lake North.
The development plan for each project will verify if there is a potential to be a stand alone
operation or to be integrated into the cluster two centralized concentrator complex.
Several satellite deposits have the potential to enhance the growth profile of this area, all
within 20-30km which is within reach of conveyor equipment today.
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.
2,000-metre drill program underway
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
• Completed 2,000 metres (3 drill rigs ) of a 10,000 metre drill program
Mo
ire
Lak
e P
rop
ert
y B
ou
nd
ary
Historical
Interpretation
200
metres
New
Interpretation
A A’
500
meters
Moire Lake Project Exploration Upside
N
Hole LM11-04: 27.9% Fe / 158.2 m
Includes
30.5% Fe / 130.2 m
Hole LM11-05: 25.0% Fe / 167.4 m
Includes
28.9% Fe / 133.5 m 22
Arc
elo
r Mitta
l Pro
perty
Bo
un
da
ry
Arc
elo
r Mitta
l Pro
pe
rty B
ou
ndary
Historical Resources:
101Mt @ 30.5% Iron
• Potential to significantly increase resources
• 1 drill completing a 10,400 metre program
• Mineral resource estimate will follow
• Drilled 8,140 metres to date
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Exploration: Fermont Projects
Moire Lake: 10,400-metre drilling program currently underway
Complete initial NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate in 2011
O’Keefe Purdy: 10,000 metre program (3 drill rigs); 2,000 metres completed
Hematite-rich targets being tested
Bellechasse: NI 43-101 Mineral Resource of 215 Mt at 28.7% Iron*
2,000 metre diamond drill program planned (Ongoing)
Metallurgical testing and update to the Mineral Resource Estimate next
Harvey Tuttle: NI 43-101 Mineral Resource of 947 Mt at 23.2% Iron*
13,165 metres of drilling completed; 50% of anomalies tested
717Mt @ 25% iron; magnetite rich; 20% cut off grade
Metallurgical testing (Q3 2011)
Why Invest In Champion Minerals?
Advanced Project
Preliminary Economic Assessment update on Fire Lake North expected in Q3 2011
Release Feasibility Study on Fire Lake North in Q2 2012
On-going 60,000+ metre drill program in the Fire Lake North area
Established Iron Ore District
Canada’s premier iron ore district
Established rail, power and port infrastructure
- Commitment by Quebec’s Plan Nord to invest $80 billion over the next 25 years
Proven Team
Strengthened the advisory board and the board of directors – appointed Richard
Quesnel (formerly President and CEO of Consolidated Thompson) as senior technical
advisor and appointed Jean Depatie (formerly director of Consolidated Thompson)
director. Also appointed Marc Duchesne (formerly Senior Vice President of Finance of
Consolidated Thompson) as Project Finance Advisor.
Strong Cash Position
C$28.0 million in cash; 40% tax rebate on exploration expenditures and 17.5%
contribution from JV partner
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Thank You
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