Cumberland gets Nunavut approval for Meadowbank (August 31, 2006)

Vancouver – A two-and-a-half-year public review process is finally over for Cumberland Resources (CLG-T, CLG-X) now that it has received Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) blessing for development of its proposed Meadowbank gold mine located 70 km north of Baker Lake.

The positive recommendation from NIRB now goes to the Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development for issuance of a project certificate, expected to take about two months. With the certificate in hand, licences to commence construction can be issued to the company that will now start procuring and staging equipment for development of an access road to the project.

“Meadowbank is the first major gold development proposal to move through the Nunavut environmental assessment process. After a multi-year review conducted by NIRB we are extremely pleased with today’s recommendation for development of the project,” stated Cumberland president and CEO Kerry Curtis. “We are now just steps away from developing Canada’s largest pure gold open pit reserves into Nunavut’s first new large-scale, long-life gold operation.”

The planned open pit mine will produce an average of 330,000 ozs. of gold annually over its estimated 8.1-year life. Total life-of-mine cash costs are expected to come in at US$201 per oz. with development capital expenditures estimated at US$235 million. Production, from three shallow open pits, is anticipated to commence by early-2009.

Earlier this year, Cumberland established a gold loan facility for up to 420,000 ozs. (about 15% of its reserves) for a monetized value of more that $280 million at current bullion prices.

Meadowbank hosts proven and probable reserves of 21.3 million tonnes grading 4.2 grams gold per tonne, about 2.89 million contained ozs. of gold.

The Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement signed earlier this year between Cumberland and the Kivalliq Inuit Association will lead to significant economic benefit to the region. Meadowbank is expected to provide about 350 direct jobs during its construction phase actually boosting Nunavut’s gross domestic product (GDP) up to 8%. Once in production, it will contribute $1.4 billion to the territory’s GDP with a major portion of the new 360 full-time jobs expected to be filled by local residents.

Cumberland’s share price got an immediate 15% boost in TSX trading following the announcement, rising to a new high at the $6.00-level.