Metallurgical Test Results Confirm Marketable Sinter Concentrate Product from Champion Minerals' Fire Lake North Project (ccnm)

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 1, 2012) -CHAMPION MINERALS INC. (TSX:CHM)(OTCQX:CPMNF)(FRANKFURT:P02) ("Champion" or the "Company") is pleased to announce metallurgical results of test work performed by SGS Lakefield Research and interpreted by BBA Inc. on its 100% owned Fire Lake North Project in Fermont, Quebec.

The test work, performed in support of the Fire Lake North Feasibility Study that is scheduled for Q4 2012, has successfully demonstrated that the West Pit and East Pit deposits, which contain predominantly hematite, can be processed using a relatively simple and conventional Autogenous Grinding ("AG") mill with three-stage gravity spiral beneficiation. Due to the very low magnetite content of both deposits, no magnetic recovery circuit is anticipated. The product generated from both heavy liquid separation (HLS) testing and a pilot plant has confirmed that an excellent grade and quality of sinter concentrate can be produced from the West Pit and East Pit deposits of the Fire Lake North Project. The Company is focused on the development of the West Pit deposit for the upcoming Feasibility Study, with the East Pit deposit possibly serving to supplement the mill feed.

Tom Larsen, Champion's President and CEO commented, "The successful results from our metallurgical testing confirm that the Fire Lake North ore will result in a superior concentrate compared to most concentrates produced from existing mines in the southern section of the Labrador Trough. This sinter concentrate is expected to have very low deleterious elements and a very low alumina to silica ratio which makes it an ideal blending product at steel plants; thus, will satisfy broad market requirements. These results have also demonstrated that the ore can be effectively processed without the need for additional separation circuits and will help to lower our processing costs."

In this phase of metallurgical testing, 38 composite samples were prepared for each of the West Pit and East Pit deposits. NQ core samples (quartered) were blended and ground to a final size of 100% passing 20, 24 and 28 mesh (850, 710, and 600 micro m). The complete results of this testing program will be published in the Feasibility Study; however, the following two tables highlight certain key results that were derived from heavy liquid separation.

West Pit HLS Testing - Average of 38 composite samples (sink fraction)

East Pit HLS Testing - Average of 38 composite samples (sink fraction)

Apart from silica (SiO2), the only other impurity that was consistently measured was alumina (Al2O3); however alumina fell well below 2%, which is a standard for sinter fines. This, combined with the fact that the alumina to silica ratio is substantially less than 1, will make it an attractive product to blast furnace operators, who may favour it for use as a diluent in raw materials blending strategies with sinter feed of lesser quality.

The West Pit test results showed that an excellent grade of sinter concentrate could be produced by grinding to 100% passing 20 mesh. Further reductions in silica were obtained by grinding to 100% passing 28 mesh. As will be reported in the Feasibility Study, most other impurities (e.g. CaO, MgO) were found to be below detection limits (<0.01%) in the majority of composites tested and thus not considered to materially affect product quality. The table below gives product assays that might be considered typical of the West Pit HLS testing for material ground to 100% passing 20 mesh. Of particular note are the low manganese (%MnO) levels. In fact, 26 of 38 West Pit composite samples tested yielded product that had MnO levels below the detection limit of 0.01%. While not yet available at the time of press release, sulphur levels in the product will also be very low, owing to the fact that the two deposits are virtually sulphur-free.

Selected Sink Fraction Assays derived from the testing of West Pit composite samples.

Similar results were derived for the East Pit composite samples. Once again, the chief impurity is silica. The East Pit HLS results do suggest that a slightly finer grind, possibly to 24-28 mesh, may be needed to consistently raise the iron grade to above 65% Fe. However, the East Pit material may also be used in a blending strategy with the West Pit deposit. While not presented, what is also clear from the results is that the majority of the composites tested at 20 mesh (24 of 38) yielded iron grades exceeding 65% Fe, which suggests that large zones within the East Pit may perform comparably to the West Pit. Further testing would be required to confirm such a hypothesis.