TORONTO, April 21, 2015 /CNW/ - Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation (TSX: LIF) ("LIORC") announced that Iron Ore Company of Canada ("IOC") has released production and sales figures for the first quarter of 2015 as below:

Iron Ore Company of Canada

Concentrate for sales (CFS) and pellet production in the first quarter of 2015 was 28% and 15% higher than the first quarter of 2014 due to increased asset reliability across the value chain, lower strip ratio and higher weight yield. When compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, CFS and pellet production was down by 5% and 7% respectively, and this was due to seasonal factors which had historically penalised IOC's first quarter production by 20% to 25%. The fact that the difference was only 5% and 7% in 2015 is a reflection that this seasonal impact has been largely offset by improved performance in the first quarter of 2015.

First quarter of 2015 CFS shipments were 12% higher than the first quarter of 2014, mainly driven by the moisture reduction project which helped move more CFS during winter months than last year. However, compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, harsh winter conditions still had significant impact on CFS movement, resulting in more CFS frozen on ground and a 43% reduction in CFS shipments in the first quarter of 2015.

First quarter of 2015 pellet shipments were 33% and 4% higher than the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2014 respectively, mainly driven by the improvements across the operations.

SOURCE Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation