Champion Iron Appoints David Cataford as Chief Operating Officer
March 20, 2017
Champion Iron Appoints David Cataford as Chief Operating Officer
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UNITED STATES
Montréal, Québec, Canada: Champion Iron Limited (ASX: CIA, TSX: CIA) (“Champion” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. David Cataford, P. Eng., as Champion’s
Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Cataford ’s appointment follows the retir ement of Mr. Alexander
Horvath, P. Eng., who has agreed to remain as a consultant on an as needed basis. Mr. Cataford first
joined Champion in October 2014 as Vice President, Engineering and was instrumental in overseeing
the s uccessful completion of the B loom Lake Mine Feasibility Study , the results of which were
recently announced by Champion on February 16, 2017.
Champion Executive Chairman and CEO Michael O’Keeffe stated, “We knew that David’s
comprehensive understanding of iron-ore processing and minin g operations in the Labrador Trough
would significantly strengthen Champion’s ability to deliver the case for the development of a long -
life, low-cost operation, as recently demonstrated in the Feasibility Study. ” Mr. O’Keeffe added that
the Company was well positioned to benefit from an experienced manager of Mr. Cataford’s calibre
to oversee the most important step for Champion’s flagship project , namely the transition from
exploration and development to mine production.
Prior to joining Champion, Mr. C ataford held various management positions with the Bloom Lake
Mine’s former owners, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc ., where he was part of the management team
that increased mining capacity by 80%. Mr. Cataford was also instrumental in delivering the
completion of phase-one ramp-up of the Bloom Lake plant.
Mr. Cataford’s experience in iron -ore mining includes ore characterization projects at Bloom Lake
and ArcelorMittal’s Mont Wright, and adapting the recovery circuit to meet new customer’s
demands.
Mr. Cat aford has a deep understanding of iron ore and mining in the region. He was a research
committee member of COREM, the largest organization in Canada focused on mineral processing
research and development, and was the Chair and Co -founder of the North Shor e and Labrador
Mineral Processing Society which hosts an annual conference for Labrador Trough projects.
For further information please contact:
Michael O’Keeffe, Executive Chairman and CEO at Tel. +1 514-316-4858
David Cataford, COO at Tel. +1 514-316-4858
About Bloom Lake
On April 11, 2016, the Company, through its subsidiary, Québec Iron Ore Inc. , 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). Québec Iron Ore Inc. is 63.2% owned by the Company, with
the remaining 36.8% equity interest owned by Ressources Québec, 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, Quebec, and 10 km north of the Mount -Wright iron ore mining operation of Arcelor Mittal 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 loa ding port in Sept -
Iles, Québec.
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 of the Provincial 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 is being completed and will be available und er the Company’s profile on SEDAR
(www.sedar.com) at the end of March, 2017.
About Champion
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 Québec. 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 advancin g 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 developme nt and operations expertise who
also have vast experience from geotechnical work to green field development, brown field management
including logistics development and financing of all stages in the mining industry.
For additional information on Champion Iron Limited, please visit our website at www.championiron.com
This news release includes certain information that may constitute "forward -looking information" under
applicable Canadian securities legislation. A ll statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in
this news release that address future activities, events, developments or financial performance constitute
forward-looking information. The use of any of the words "will", "expect", “ant icipate”, “intend”, "believe",
"plan", "potential", “outlook”, “forecast”, “estimate” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward -
looking information. Forward -looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and
assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and
other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward -looking information, inclu ding the risks identified in Champion’s annual information
forms, management’s discussion and analysis and other securities regulatory filings made by Champion on
SEDAR (including under the heading "Risk Factors" therein). There can be no assurance that su ch information
will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such forward -looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward -looking
information. All of Ch ampion’s forward -looking information contained in this press release is given as of the
date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of Champion’s management and information
available to management as at the date hereof. Champion disclaims any intention or obligation to update or
revise any of its forward -looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law.