Norsemont Mining Announces the Appointment of Mr. Louis Gignac to the Board

Share Issued and Outstanding: 82,701,945             
TSX: NOM
BVL: NOM

TORONTO, ON and LIMA, Peru, Dec. 8 /CNW/ - Norsemont Mining Inc. ("the Company") (TSX: NOM, BVL: NOM) today announced the appointment of Mr. Louis Gignac to the Company's board of directors. Mr. Gignac is the President of G Mining Services Inc., a private consultancy, and previously served as the President and CEO of Cambior Inc. from its creation in 1986 until its acquisition by Iamgold Corporation in November 2006 and as Chairman of Andean Resources until its recent acquisition by Goldcorp.

Mr. Gignac is Chairman of the Board for Gaz Metropolitan Inc. and St. Andrews Goldfields, and director of Domtar Corp. and Franco-Nevada Corporation. He held previous management positions with Falconbridge, Exxon Minerals and also served as a professor of mining engineering at Laval University. Mr. Gignac holds a Doctor of engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, a Masters in mineral engineering from the University of Minnesota and a degree in mining engineering from Laval University.

Norsemont's Chairman, Mr. George Bell, said: "We welcome Louis Gignac to Norsemont's board. Louis brings a wealth of development and operating experience to the Norsemont board and will make valuable contributions as the Company prepares for the development of the Constancia Project."

ABOUT NORSEMONT MINING - Norsemont is a mineral exploration and development company advancing the extensive Constancia Copper-Gold project in Southern Peru. A September 2009 independent definitive feasibility study indicates that the Phase 1 Mine development at the Constancia Project has a NPV (8%) of $931.8M and an IRR of 26.9% (based on $2.75/Lb Cu) and can support a 15-year mine producing an annual average of approx. 150 million pounds of copper, 1,180 tonnes of molybdenum and 1.5 million ounces of silver. Constancia's Phase 1 Mine has a proven and probable reserve of 277.4 million tonnes grading at 0.43% Cu, 0.012% Mo, 3.69 g/t Ag. Exploration drilling at Constancia's satellite Pampacancha and Chilloroya South discoveries are expected to add significant tonnage to the global resource. The company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NOM, and on the Bolsa de Valores, Lima (BVL) also under the symbol NOM.

The technical information provided in this news release was reviewed and approved by Robert. W. Baxter (MAusIMM), the President, COO and a director of the Company and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

For further information:

Patrick Evans
CEO            
Norsemont Mining Inc     
Phone: [phone] 

E-Mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.norsemont.com