VANCOUVER, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northgate Minerals Corporation (TSX: NGX, AMEX: NXG) is pleased to announce that a new three-year employee collective agreement (the "Agreement") has been ratified by the Employee Collective, comprised of the 155 production and maintenance employees at the Stawell Gold Mine located in Victoria, Australia. This Agreement replaces the previous three-year agreement that expired on September 26, 2008.
Ken Stowe, President and CEO stated, "We are very pleased to have reached a mutually beneficial agreement with our employees at Stawell after an extensive negotiating process. This Agreement is the result of dedication and commitment on both sides of the bargaining table and I would like to commend the two negotiating teams for their efforts during this process. With the recent announcement to extend the current mine-life at Stawell until the fourth quarter of 2011, adding to the prosperous 25-year history of modern production, we are extremely committed to the operational success at the mine as we look forward to many more years of mining at Stawell."
Northgate Minerals Corporation is a mid-tier gold and copper producer with mining operations, development projects and exploration properties in Canada and Australia. The company is forecasting 385,000 ounces of unhedged gold production in 2008 and is targeting growth through further acquisitions in stable mining jurisdictions around the world. Northgate is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NGX and on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol NXG.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Certain of the statements made herein, including any information as to the future activities of and developments related to the business activities of Northgate Minerals Corporation (Northgate) and its subsidiaries, the market position, and future financial or operating performance of Northgate, are forward-looking and subject to important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the corporations' ability to control or predict. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: gold price volatility; impact of any hedging activities, including margin limits and margin calls; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, between actual and estimated reserves and resources and between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries; costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of construction and the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities and permitting time lines; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in any of the countries in which either corporation does or may carry out business in the future; risks of sovereign investment; the speculative nature of gold exploration, development and mining, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits; dilution; competition; loss of key employees; additional funding requirements; and defective title to mineral claims or property. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks), as well as the factors described or referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Northgate's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2006 or under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in Northgate's 2006 annual report, both of which are available on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com/, and which should be reviewed in conjunction with this document. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither corporation undertakes any obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except in each case as required by law.
