Northern Iron Corp. announced the completion of the winter dewatering program of its open-pit Griffith Mine in northwestern Ontario until the spring thaw.

The dewatering program, which was halted January 3, has pumped more than four million litres since Oct. 22.

"Dewatering the pit will allow our drills to get onto the benches in the spring and complete the drill program over the summer,” said Basil Botha, president and CEO. “Our on-site crews have done a great job keeping everything running smoothly and management is delighted with the progress made."

The company said it has implemented a water monitoring program designed to ensure there were no negative impacts on the receiving Bruce Lake. Lake water levels, water quality, dissolved oxygen and temperature were being measured. Lake water and shorelines were also observed on a daily basis to check for erosion and scouring of the lake bottom. All results and observations so far indicate there has been no negative effects. The results have been submitted to the Ministry of Environment.

Northern Iron owns five iron ore properties in the Red Lake district containing over 500 million tonnes of historical resources.