Liberty Mines Announces Plan to Restart Production at its Timmins Operations in Q1/2012

TSX: LBE

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2011 /CNW/ - Liberty Mines Inc.

'Our single focus over the past six months has been to restart production and we are extremely pleased with the progress we have made,' said Mr. Chris Stewart, President and CEO of Liberty Mines Inc. 'Since February, we have been working closely with various regulatory bodies to take the proper corrective measures and have hired qualified engineering consultants to support our efforts.  Today's plan provides us a clear roadmap to realize our short- and long-term objectives. '

To support the re-start of its operations, Liberty will repair its existing TPF after having obtained and analyzed the results from all of the field work and laboratory work over the past six months.  As disclosed previously, Liberty suspended operations at its Timmins facility due to maintenance and tailings pond related issues in February, 2011.

Liberty will also be performing a dam raise to the current TPF in order to provide an additional three years of capacity for mill tailings at an operating rate of 1,500 tonnes per day upon receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.

Liberty will deploy a portion of the Company's $20.0 million credit facility to implement its plan.  This facility was established earlier this year with Liberty's controlling shareholder, Jilin Jien, one of the largest producers of nickel sulfate in the world, with annual output of 25,000 tons.

'The planned repairs to our TPF and the dam raise will support our operations through to 2015,' Mr. Stewart also said.  'To support our longer-term objectives and ensure that our full potential is maximized, we envision the construction of a new, much larger TPF with a capacity of approximately 15 years.'

Concurrent with the repair work for its existing TPF, Liberty is starting an environmental baseline study for the new tailings pond facility which we will be located on its current mill site.  This new facility will be targeted for regulatory approval in Q3/2013 with construction to start immediately thereafter.  The Company expects that this approach will allow its mines and mill to continue operating uninterrupted.

Liberty currently has 25,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled on surface at the mill site and another 170,000 tonnes of ore broken in the stope underground at the McWatters Mine.  This ore inventory will provide the necessary flexibility Liberty needs to restart the mining and milling operations in an efficient and cost effective manner.  Liberty currently has 40 people working at its operations in Timmins with the majority of the key roles for restarting the operations already filled.  Over the next couple of months Liberty will be aggressively hiring the remaining personnel required so that proper training can be delivered to everyone prior to commencing the commissioning process for the operations.

Mr. Stewart also said, 'Liberty is a much different, more focused company today.  We are confident that our plan provides a clear road map that will allow us achieve a number of milestones in the short and longer term.'

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.

About Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co., Ltd.

Jilin Jien is one of the largest holding subsidiaries of Jilin Horoc Nonferrous Metal Group Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1960.  Horoc and Jien own four nickel mines, one molybdenum mine, one silver mine, two smelters, seven refineries, and two chemical plants with total assets over RMB 3.0 billion. Jilin Jien professionally provides all kinds of nickel, copper, cobalt salts and nonferrous metal products for plating, chemical plating, battery materials and metallurgy.  Jilin Jien is one of the biggest producers of nickel sulfate in the world, with annual output of 25,000 tons. In September 2003, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co., Ltd. was listed on the A-share market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange with stock code of 600432.

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.

Liberty Mines Inc.

CONTACT: Chris Stewart, President & CEO

Phone (416) 226-4360 ext. 203 Fax 416-226-0857

E-mail: cstewart@libertymines.com