Northland Resources SA announced that the first concentrate has been transported by rail on the Malmbanan railway from Pitkäjärvi to the Port of Narvik.
Northland Resources started ramping up production of high grade,high quality iron ore concentrate on December 4th 2012.Since then,the concentrate has been trucked 150 kilometer to Northland's new trans loading terminal in Pitkäjärvi,outside Svappavaara.From Pitkäjärvi the product will be transported by rail on the high capacity railway Malmbanan to Narvik,a distance of 226 kilometers.
During the weekend three trains reached the Port of Narvik,carrying Northland's concentrate.Each train set comprised of 27 rented box rail cars.The concentrate will be stored at Northland's interim terminal area before loaded on vessels for further shipment to customers early in the first quarter of 2013.
Mr Willy Sundling project manager,Logistics at Northland said that"This is yet another important milestone in the ramp-up phase as the logistic chain has worked as planned.We have proved that our logistic solution is very robust,also during low temperatures.In the beginning of this year,Northland decided to work with strong logistical partners with a proven track record that has paid off.We will now continue the tests of equipment and training of staff,with the aim to be fully operational in the beginning of first quarter next year."
Cliffton Mining,a subsidiary to Peab AB,is operating the trucking between the mine in Kaunisvaara and Pitkäjärvi.Green Cargo is operating the railway transports from Pitkäjärvi and Narvik.Grieg Logistics AS is responsible for the port operation.Coordination of the logistics chain in carried out by Savage Service Corporation.
