Consolidated Thompson Is Granted an Operating Permit for Its Railway and Concludes an Agreement to Sell a Minimum of 250,000 Tonnes of Iron Ore Concentrate to Be Delivered in May 2010 (ccnm)

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - May 4, 2010) - Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. (TSX:CLM) ("CLM" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce the completion of the construction of its 31-kilometer railway running from the Bloom Lake mine load out facilities, to Wabush, Labrador. The Corporation was granted an operating permit from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for the hauling of trains unit of iron ore over such 31-kilometer railway.

"We are very proud of this achievement" declared Mr. Richard Quesnel, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation "Building a railway in the midst of winter and keeping the construction on schedule is a testimony of the quality and proficiency of the work of our business partners and their employees. We could not have done this without the great support and cooperation of all the communities, local interest groups, the government departments and our Innu partners".

The commencement of the transportation of iron ore concentrate over the newly completed railway follows the recent successful commissioning of the Bloom Lake mine. To date, 200,000 metric tons of high-grade iron ore concentrate have been produced and stockpiled at Bloom Lake. While completing the construction of CLM's port facilities at Pointe-Noire and the necessary railway improvements at Arnaud Junction, the Corporation's subsidiary, The Bloom Lake Iron Ore Mine Limited Partnership ("BLLP"), has entered into a confidential iron ore purchase agreement to sell and deliver to Arnaud Junction, located in Sept-Iles, Quebec a minimum of 250,000 tonnes of iron ore concentrate in May 2010. Subject to mutual agreement between the parties to this purchase agreement, BLLP may sell and deliver an additional quantity of iron ore concentrate in June 2010. This purchase agreement is in addition to the previous off-take agreements already signed by BLLP for 8 million tonnes annually, for which delivery will commence upon completion of the construction of port facilities at Pointe-Noire expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

LIM Receives Environmental and Construction Permits for Railway (ccnm)

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 4, 2010) - Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited (TSX:LIM) is pleased to announce that it has begun construction on the new 4.5 km railway spur line in preparation for the commencement of operations at the Company's Schefferville area iron ore project this summer.

The Construction Permit has been issued by the Minister of Transport and Works of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador under the Rail Service Act, for the re-establishment of the railway spur line between the LIM processing site at Silver Yard and the existing Tshieutin Rail line which runs to the Port of Sept-Iles. This enables the Company to immediately proceed with the installation of track panelling that has been assembled offsite over the past several months.

The new rail spur line will be used to move to site the main components of the processing plant and the accommodation camp. The process and camp components have all been ordered and the majority have now been delivered. These will be installed when the mine construction and operating permits are received in the near future. It is expected that the rail work will be completed within the next 30 days.

This Permit follows the receipt of approval from the Department of Environment and Conservation of the Environmental Protection Plan ("EPP") for the spur line reconstruction.

Mining leases for the first stage James and Redmond deposits, surface use leases for the rail spur, Silver Yard beneficiation area, camp, and residue disposal, together with a number of other permits and licenses, have all now been issued by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. A number of other permits, including the mine operating permit, are expected to be issued in the near future.

Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited (LIM)

LIM's Schefferville area project involves the development of twenty direct shipping iron ore deposits in western Labrador and north-eastern Quebec near Schefferville, Quebec. The Company's properties are part of the historic Schefferville area iron ore district where mining of adjacent deposits was previously carried out by the Iron Ore Company of Canada from 1954 to 1982. Labrador Iron Mines contemplates mining in four stages, the first phase of Stage 1 comprising the James and Redmond deposits, which are located in close proximity to existing infrastructure. The Company plans, subject to timely receipt of remaining permits, to commence iron ore production in mid-2010.

For further information, please view the Company's website at