Liberty Mines Announces 2012 Operational and Exploration Targets

TSX:  LBE

TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Liberty Mines Inc. (LBE:TSX) ("Liberty" or the "Company") today announced that its Board of Directors has approved the Company's budget and operating targets for 2012.

"Our budget and targets for the year build on the significant progress we have recently made towards re-starting production and expanding our resource estimates in the Shaw Dome Nickel Belt," said Mr. Chris Stewart, President & CEO of Liberty Mines.  "More specifically, we are pleased with our work on the tailings storage facility from both a safety and refurbishment perspective.  We look forward to restarting our Redstone Mill, which we expect before the end of Q1/2012, as this will enable us to begin generating cash flow in the second quarter."

Selected targets for 2012:

• Liberty expects 2012 nickel production to be approximately 4.0 million pounds, which will be supplied by the Company's McWatters Mine.
  
  
• To support its production targets for the year, Liberty is near completion of Phase 1 of its Tailings Support Facility (TSF) Project, which is designed to allow mining and milling operations to restart in Q1 as previously announced.  The new TSF will meet environmental standards and once the project is completed, it will provide a minimum three-year life.
  
  
• The Company is also moving ahead with an expanded exploration program that will consist  of the following key initiatives:
  
  
• Drilling along strike and at depth to increase the size of the Hart East deposit;
  
  
• Drilling at depth on the main Hart deposit to expand the resource estimate;
  
  
• Underground drilling program at the Redstone Mine to confirm near-term resources;
  
  
• Drilling at depth on the Redstone Mine with the objective of moving the 747,000 tonne inferred resource into the indicated category;
  
  
• Exploration drilling on combined airborne VTEM and geochemical soil sample target areas for potential new discoveries;
  
  
• Implementing soil geochemistry and ground geophysics on the Groves Property; and
  
  
• Compilation and interpretation of recent work on Croxall and McAra projects to determine additional drill targets.

Long-term targets

• Liberty is continuing to progress with the environmental baseline work that is required to permit the construction of a new tailings pond facility.  The permit application is expected to be submitted by mid-2013 with construction to follow in 2014.  Once the construction is completed, Liberty will have a new TSF with a 15 year life.

Mr. Stewart added, "We are clearly on the right path to turning Liberty Mines around.  With the right strategy and team in place, we believe that our transformation will be completed before the end of the year."

About Liberty Mines Inc.
Liberty Mines Inc. is a mid-tier producer of nickel and is focused on the exploration, development and production of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals from its properties in Ontario, Canada. It owns and operates the only nickel concentrator in the Shaw Dome, a prospective nickel belt region near Timmins, Ontario.  With a new management team in place, Liberty is focused on growth initiatives not only through a more aggressive exploration program on its current properties but also through potential acquisition or partnership opportunities beyond its core Timmins area projects.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain "forward looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of Liberty, are forward looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Liberty's expectations are: exploration risks; commodity prices; regulatory approvals; receipt of mining permits and leases; and assumed startup and operating costs detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Liberty with securities regulators. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statement or reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except where required by securities regulations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.