Century Iron strikes partnership deal with Altius to develop four properties in Newfoundland

Century Iron Mines (TSE:FER) Tuesday said it has inked a partnership deal with Altius Minerals (TSE:ALS) to develop four iron ore projects in the Labrador Trough, Newfoundland.

Century Iron said in a statement that it will acquire a 100% stake in the Astray, Grenville, Menihek as well as the Schefferville properties and in return will pay exploration expenditures of $7 million per projects and issue five million shares over a five year period to Altius.

Altius, focused on the mining and resource sector through the acquisition of royalties and investments, will retain a one per cent to 4% sliding scale gross sales royalty on the properties and will be entitled to bonus shares of Century provided various thresholds are met. 

Century Iron Mines Chief Executive Sandy Chim said: "We are delighted to have entered into the agreements and to add this extensive portfolio of iron ore properties solidifying our position as a consolidating force in the region."

"We believe that our ability to attract world scale strategic partners will continue to be our dominant strength and provide Century with the financial and technical resources to advance its projects into production and export to world markets including China."

Since 2003, Altius has been prospecting for iron ore in western Labrador and is the largest exploration license holder in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Altius’ Chief Executive Brian Dalton said: "We are pleased to partner with Century on these projects. Century is highly motivated to become an iron ore producer in Labrador through consolidation of projects in the region."

Collectively, these projects cover 1,647 kilometres and a major portion of the indicated iron formation inside the Newfoundland and Labrador portion of the Labrador Trough.

The Toronto-based emerging iron ore explorer has interests in projects such as Duncan Lake and Sunny Lake, both in Quebec. Both WISCO and MinMetals (HKG:1208) have substantial stakes in Century Iron.

Century Iron’s stock traded at $2.50 per share, while shares of Altius Minerals climbed 9 cents, or 0.76%, to $11.89 Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.