Mr. Steven Dean reports

OCEANIC PROVIDES UPDATE ON ADVANCEMENT OF HOPES ADVANCE PROJECT

Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. has provided an update on the advancement of the Hopes Advance project, located in Northern Quebec, Canada. All figures are in United States dollars unless otherwise noted.

The company is currently working on progressing key milestones associated with the development of the project, which include, but are not limited to, economic and optimization studies, detailed engineering, environmental baseline field work and other associated permitting activities.

Steven Dean, chairman of Oceanic, said: "The Hopes Advance project is undoubtedly a world-class iron ore development project, located in a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction in the same geological formation of other world-class producing iron ore mines. We are proud to be a 100-per-cent owner of an asset containing a very large mineral resource and related significant production profile that will span generations to come, while also contributing to the economic development of Northern Quebec in the short and long term.

"Being located at tidewater, the project's unique positioning removes significant capital and operating costs, as well as transportation and logistical constraints related to building, operating and maintaining a rail line, that is typically a requirement of most large iron ore operations globally. This advantage, along with a low strip ratio, simple metallurgy and high-grade material lends itself to a significant economic return for a premium product, desirable not only to steel producers, but to other iron ore producers looking to supplement depleting resources or blend with existing lower-grade material.

"Moreover, the ability to operate independently of third party run infrastructure serves as another distinct competitive advantage over peer unfunded iron ore development projects for a commodity that will maintain demand over the long term."

Hopes Advance -- distinct attributes

• Large mineral resource -- several decades of production in the making:
  • Large tonnage mineral resource over 10 deposits at Hopes Advance in Northern Quebec -- over 1.3 billion tonnes (measured and indicated resource category, at a grade of 32.1 per cent Fe (iron)).
  • Current mine plan only contemplates mining three of 10 deposits over a 28-year mine life.
  • Opportunity for significant life extension at Hopes Advance as well as with possible development of neighbouring properties at Roberts Lake and Morgan Lake.
• Location: at Tidewater -- the "no rail" advantage:
  • Hopes Advance Site located at tidewater. Direct access of product via access road or pipeline (26 kilometres) from site to private port to be built and operated by Oceanic.
  • No rail -- removes significant cost burden, capacity issues, operational headaches.
• Additional infrastructure advantage -- no reliance on third parties:
  • Port -- privately built and operated.
  • Energy source -- construction and operations to utilize barge-mounted self-generated power.
• Robust financial metrics
  • Low opex (operational expenditure) of $30.70/tonne resulting from no-rail advantage being at close proximity to Point Breakwater, simple metallurgy and low strip ratio (0.81:1 over life of mine).
  • Posttax NPV 8 (net present value, 8-per-cent discount rate) of $1.4-billion with an initial capex estimate of $1.19-billion.
  • Low NPV/initial capex (capital expenditure) ratio of 1.18 for a long-life bulk commodity project.
• Highly supported by a resource pro-active provincial government:
  • Quebec remains a strong supporter of mineral project development in Northern Quebec as part of its current Northern Action Plan, supported by the Societe du Plan Nord.

Mineral resource provides for generational mine life potential

Hopes Advance has one of the larger iron ore mineral resources globally in respect of single-asset developers (in excess of 1.3 billion tonnes in the measured and indicated resource category, at a grade of 32.1 per cent Fe) with a relatively manageable capital cost to bring the asset to production.

The Hopes Advance iron deposits comprise a total of 10 mineral deposits. These deposits are a typical stratigraphic iron deposit similar to other Labrador trough iron deposits of Lake Superior-type iron formations, located at the northern end of the Labrador trough. The Hopes Advance iron formations are thick Sokoman iron formation, with magnetite, magnetite and hematite units that strike east-west to northeast and have gentle dips to the south and southeast. The iron formations are typically 40 to 70 m thick, and often crop out at surface. The three largest deposits are the Castle Mountain, Bay Zone F and Iron Valley deposits, which comprise the deposits in the life of mine plan in the company's most recent National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) preliminary economic assessment (the PEA study).

Mineral resources for all 10 deposits were estimated for the Bay Zone B, C, D, E, F, Castle Mountain, Iron Valley, West Zone 2, West Zone 4 and West Macdonald deposits, and are totalled below. The effective date of the mineral resource estimate is Dec.19, 2019.

This mineral resource estimate does not include the historical mineral resources as the company's other project areas, being Roberts Lake and Morgan Lake, which has the potential for extending the production profile and life of mine in the project area beyond its already significant mine life.

Tidewater location and the no rail advantage

• Cost -- Rail infrastructure is highly capital intensive, involving lengthy permitting processes and a significant construction period before first production can be shipped. By being located at tidewater, the Hopes Advance operations can utilize a relatively short access road to transport material via haul truck at a fraction of the cost compared with transport via rail. Avoiding rail transportation also eliminates financial commitments associated with maintaining and operating a dedicated rail line.
• Related execution risk -- Most iron ore operations require significant rail capacity and coverage to transport its product to port. The associated cost of such infrastructure forces a development plan and life of mine plan so significant in volume as to justify the excessive capital cost of the rail, that such projects become nearly impossible to finance.
• Avoidance of logistical/operating constraints -- Avoiding rail dependency can reduce exposure to logistical bottlenecks, labour disputes and related infrastructure maintenance risks.

Additional infrastructure advantage -- no reliance on third party infrastructure

Further to the project's no rail advantage, The project also enjoys the following advantages in relation to lack of reliance on third party infrastructure:

• Privately run port -- Marine facilities proposed to be constructed within 26 kilometres of the project site at Pointe Breakwater.
• Energy Source -- Power is self generated using diesel fuel. The power plant is a prefabricated, barge system that is beached and bermed at the port and includes a 120-kilovolt substation. The initial capacity is 48 megawatts plus 19 MW standby. An additional 29 MW will be added for the expansion. A 26 km overhead transmission line will be installed to deliver power from the power plant to the mine site. There also exists the potential to investigate other sources of power to energize operations using alternative fuels such as LNG (liquified natural gas) and a connection to the Hydro Quebec grid to satisfy management's ESG (environmental, social and governance) related targets.

High grade and proximity to Tidewater drives robust economics

A prefeasibility study was published in 2012, which contemplated the mining of all 10 deposits at Hopes Advance and produced robust economic results. This 2012 PFS was superseded by the PEA study, issued in 2020 and prepared by BBA Engineering Ltd., and contemplated a rescoped project development plan in order to derisk in various areas including initial capital cost reduction as well as the elimination of reliance on third party run infrastructure, which gives the company full control over the development of Hopes Advance. In the PEA study, only three of the 10 deposits are included in the life of mine plan, again allowing for additional extension to the life of mine for the remaining deposits at the election of the operator. The PEA study achieved the same posttax IRR (internal rate of return) as the 2012 PFS.

Based on its no-rail advantage, low strip ratio and relatively high grades, the project lends itself to robust financial metrics such as a posttax NPV 8 of $1.4-billion, and life of mine operating cost/t of $30.70, all with a relatively financeable initial capital cost requirement, resulting in an NPV/initial capex ratio of 1.18.

Next steps

The company is working on the following in connection with the development of the project over the coming months:

• Engaging with environmental permitting consultants and support staff to agree on process and timeline on relevant regulatory permits;
• Engaging with relevant engineering firms to determine scope for possible optimization studies and detailed engineering work;
• Revisiting historical metallurgical testwork to assess further possible improvements to product characteristics and grades;
• Re-engagement with representatives of the Inuit of Nunavik.

Updates will be provided in due course.

Technical disclosure

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Eddy Canova, director of exploration of the company, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and independent of the company.

Notes related to the mineral resource estimate disclosure in this news release:

1. The qualified person responsible for the estimates (including the current mineral resource estimates) is Eddy Canova, PGeo, a consultant to the company.
2. Mineral resources are reported assuming open pit mining methods. Mineral resources were initially reported with an effective date of Sept. 19, 2012, on a block model that had an effective date of April 2, 2012. A review was undertaken in 2019, which concluded that the estimate and its inputs were current, and the effective date for the reviewed estimate is Nov. 20, 2019. The mineral resource is now current as at Nov. 20, 2019.
3. Mineral resources are classified using the 2014 CIM definition standards. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
4. The mineral resources in the PEA study were estimated in 2019 using a block model with parent blocks of 50 m by 50 m by 15 m sub-blocked to a minimum size of 25 m by 25 m by one m and using inverse distance weighting to the third power (ID3) methods for grade estimation. A total of 10 individual mineralized domains were identified and each estimated into a separate block model. Given the continuity of the iron assay values, no top cuts were applied. All resources are reported using an iron cut-off grade of 25 per cent within conceptual Whittle pit shells and a mining recovery of 100 per cent. The Whittle shells used the following input parameters: commodity price of $115 (U.S.)/dry metric tonne of concentrate; Canadian dollar: U.S. dollar exchange rate of 0.97; assumed overall pit slope angle of 50 degrees; 1-per-cent royalty; mining cost of $2.00 (Canadian)/t material moved; process cost of $16.22 (Canadian)/t of concentrate; port costs of $1.45 (Canadian)/t of concentrate; and general and administrative costs of $3.38 (Canadian)/t of concentrate.
5. Estimates have been rounded and may result in summation differences.

Mineral resources that were estimated assuming open pit mining methods in 2012 were reviewed in 2019 to determine if they were still current. These reviews included checks on the confidence classification assignments based on changes to defined terms between the 2010 and 2014 editions of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) definition standards for mineral resources and mineral reserves, inputs into the Whittle optimization shells that constrain the estimate, and commodity price assumptions as a result of the 2019 VIU study. Eddy Canova, PGeo, a consultant to the company concluded that the estimates remain current, and have an effective date of Nov. 20, 2019, which is the date the reviews were completed.

About Oceanic Iron Ore Corp.

Oceanic is focused on the development of its 100-per-cent-owned Hopes Advance, Morgan Lake and Roberts Lake iron ore development projects located on the coast in the Labrador trough in Quebec, Canada. In December, 2019, the company published the results of a preliminary economic assessment completed in respect of the flagship Hopes Advance project outlining a base case pretax NPV 8 of $2.4-billion (U.S.) (posttax NPV 8 of $1.4-billion (U.S.)) over a 28-year mine life, supported by an NI 43-101 measured and indicated mineral resource of approximately 1.36 billion tonnes and a life of mine operating cost of approximately $30 (U.S.)/tonne. Further information in respect of the Morgan Lake and Roberts Lake projects, both of which have been explored historically and which have defined historical resources, is also available on the company's website.

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