Issued Capital: 150,526,976
LONDON, ON,
Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -
Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQX: FTMDF) ("Fortune"
or the "Company") (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to announce
that the Honourable Ken Cheveldayoff, Minister of Environment for
the Province of Saskatchewan, has
accepted the Environmental Assessment Branch's recommendation and
approved the Company's proposed Saskatchewan Metals Processing
Plant ("SMPP"), subject to certain conditions. Today's announcement
by the Saskatchewan Government
states, "The proposal was assessed to be both environmentally and
technically sound, providing both environmental safeguards and
outlining company plans to ensure Saskatchewan's air, water, and natural
resources are protected throughout the duration of the project and
after."
The SMPP is a hydrometallurgical refinery
planned near Langham, Saskatchewan
(27 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon) in the Rural Municipality of Corman
Park. With a capital cost estimated to be in excess of $200 million, this plant is expected to bring 200
jobs during construction, create approximately 100 long-term direct
jobs for the region, and produce new business opportunities to
support the facility. The SMPP will process metal concentrates from
the Company's proposed NICO mine and mill in the Northwest Territories ("NT"). The combined
facilities will be an important vertically integrated and reliable
Canadian source of cobalt and bismuth metals and chemicals with a
highly liquid gold co-product, and copper.
"Saskatchewan
has a rigorous environmental review process and we are pleased to
have received approval to advance our project," said Robin Goad, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Fortune. "This is an important milestone toward bringing
this state of the art metals processing facility to Saskatchewan. We intend to work closely with
the communities near our site to earn their support and demonstrate
the benefits of the project."
With this approval, Fortune is now completing
the process of rezoning its land with the Rural Municipality of
Corman Park. The Company is also continuing its dialogue with
nearby communities to explain the opportunities of the refinery and
exchange information about the project with residents. The Company
will host a meeting at the Affinity Community Hall in Langham on February
19th. The Company has undertaken extensive
studies to develop a facility that can deliver significant economic
and social benefits to the area while minimizing its environmental
footprint.
Dr. Richard
Schryer, Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs
for Fortune, said "The SMPP is a unique and technologically
advanced hydrometallurgical facility that will contribute to
Canada's and Saskatchewan's proven expertise in mining and
processing." Schryer, who is based in Saskatoon, also commented, "Extensive test
work and piloting has been drawn on to design this facility, which
incorporates the most up-to-date metallurgical and environmental
technologies."
The approval for the SMPP includes conditions,
several of which reflect Fortune's prior commitments made through
the environmental assessment process. They include among other
conditions, establishment of an independent community based
monitoring program, submission of an annual monitoring report to
Saskatchewan Environment, providing effective dust control for all
components of the project, and submission of a detailed
quantitative and qualitative analysis of the process residue that
will be stored at the site.
Community Monitoring Program
With the introduction of metals refining to the
Saskatoon area, Fortune has
proposed the creation of an independent community monitoring
program to give residents in the area confidence that the new
facility is meeting or exceeding all environmental standards. The
Company will commit to fund this independent body, which will have
the freedom to hire its own expert consultants to review the
Company's monitoring plans prior to and during commercial
operations. Appropriate consultants will report to the committee
and make recommendations to the Environmental Protection Branch and
Fortune.
"We recognize that Fortune and metals processing
are new in this region and that people who live in the area need to
know that their land, air and water supply will not be adversely
affected," said Mike Romaniuk,
Fortune's Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer.
"Just as we've looked for innovative technology to treat metals at
our facility, we want to bring creative approaches to our community
relationships. By providing funding to set up an independent
committee, we hope to establish that our company and our operations
can be trusted to deliver the levels of safety and environmental
responsibility that we have promised."
About the SMPP
The SMPP lands are adjacent to the Canadian
National Railway, which will be used to deliver 180 tonnes per day
of bulk concentrate from the NICO mine over its expected minimum
20-year lifespan. The Company is also exploring other
potential sources of concentrate that could be processed at the
SMPP and is also investigating opportunities for entering the
recycling business.
Once operational, the SMPP would have
approximate average annual production of:
- 40,500 ounces of gold (contained in doré);
- 1,600 tonnes of cobalt (contained in cobalt sulphate
heptahydrate), needed to manufacture lithium ion and nickel metal
hydride batteries used in portable electronic devices and electric
vehicles;
- Additional cobalt products can be produced to meet changes in
market conditions;
- 1,700 tonnes of bismuth (contained in ingots, needles and an
oxide compound), a non-toxic, environmentally safe replacement for
lead with a broad range of industrial and commercial uses,
including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, electronics, pigments and
alloys; and
- 250 tonnes of copper (contained in a metal precipitate
by-product that will be sold to smelters).
Current information about the proposed project
can be found in the media backgrounder, entitled, "Saskatchewan
Metals Processing Plant" - click here to read.
About NICO
The NICO deposit is located approximately 160 km
northwest of Yellowknife and
recently received its environmental assessment approval in the NT.
The deposit will be mined primarily by open pit methods with
underground ores also contributing mill feed during the first two
years from the existing underground workings that were established
from previous test mining programs. The ores will be processed at
the rate of 4,650 tonnes per day in a concentrator at the site,
using simple flotation to produce a bulk concentrate for shipment
to the SMPP. More than $110 million
of work has already been invested to advance the project, including
completion of Front-End Engineering and Design and feasibility
studies, underground test mining, and pilot plant tests to verify
the process methods and products the Company plans to produce.
Fortune continues to work with Deloitte
Corporate Finance Inc. to complete project financing agreements for
the NICO project. The Company has already announced a strategic
investment by Procon Resources Inc. in 2013 to provide interim
financing to advance work on the project, and negotiations are
ongoing to secure final project financing for the development.
The disclosure of scientific and technical
information contained in this press release has been approved by
Robin Goad, M.Sc., P.Geo., President
and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, who is a "qualified
person" under National Instrument 43-101.
About Fortune Minerals
Fortune is a diversified resource company with
several mineral deposits and a number of exploration projects, all
located in Canada. The Company is
focused on the development of the Arctos Anthracite Project in
British Columbia and the NICO
gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project in the NT and Saskatchewan. In addition, the Company owns
the Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit and other exploration
projects in the NT. Fortune is focused on outstanding performance
and growth of shareholder value through assembly and development of
high quality mineral resource projects.
This press release contains forward-looking
information. This forward-looking information includes statements
with respect to, among other things, the proposed development of
the NICO project and the SMPP, the permitting process for the NICO
project and the SMPP, the anticipated production from the SMPP, the
number of jobs expected to be created by the SMPP capital cost of
and the possibility that the SMPP may be able to source materials
from other projects. Forward-looking information is based on the
opinions and estimates of management as well as certain assumptions
at the date the information is given (including, in respect of the
forward-looking information contained in this press release,
assumptions regarding the Company's ability to arrange necessary
financing for the NICO project and the SMPP, obtain all necessary
permits for the NICO project and the SMPP and assumptions regarding
the capital costs of the SMPP, the production from the SMPP, and
the number of jobs to be created by the SMPP. However, such
forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or
results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking information. These factors include the inherent
risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral
properties, the risk that the Company may not be able to arrange
the necessary financing to construct and operate the NICO mine or
the SMPP, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of
required permits for the development of the NICO project or the
SMPP, the possibility of delays in the commencement of production
from the NICO project or construction of the SMPP, the risk of cost
overruns, the risk that the Company may not be able to source
materials for the SMPP from other projects and other factors.
Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on
forward-looking information because it is possible that
predictions, forecasts, projections and other forms of
forward-looking information will not be achieved by the
Company. The forward-looking information contained herein is
made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no
responsibility to update or revise it to reflect new events or
circumstances, except as required by law.
SOURCE Fortune Minerals Limited
PDF available at:
http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2014/02/11/20140211_C9233_DOC_EN_36557.pdf
