Additional sites being evaluated based on
expedited approvals process
Issued Capital: 347,303,220
LONDON, ON, April 23, 2019 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals
Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF)
("Fortune" or the "Company")
(www.fortuneminerals.com) has entered into an option to purchase an
alternative site to construct the proposed hydrometallurgical
refinery that would process metal concentrates from the Company's
planned NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper Mine in the Northwest Territories. Fortune has been in
discussions for several months with a number of municipalities that
have indicated their interest in having the refinery built in their
jurisdictions. The option agreement was executed for a parcel of
lands that has already been planned for industrial use and meets
the Company's infrastructure and services requirements.
Fortune has also been approached by other jurisdictions and
agents representing landowners that want to attract the
hydrometallurgical facility and the jobs and economic benefits it
would provide. The Company will advance the municipal approvals
required to develop the lands that are now under option while also
evaluating the merits of these other properties, and will then
select the best option for progressing the NICO project. Fortune is
also completing an updated Technical Report for the NICO Project,
which includes a lower capital cost start-up scenario of selling
metal concentrates directly from the mine to defer construction of
a refinery as an alternative to the vertically integrated
development scenario.
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The Rural Municipality of Corman Park recently rejected
Fortune's zoning change application for its lands near Langham, Saskatchewan after the Company had
been encouraged to locate the facility there. Fortune had already
gone through an extensive environmental assessment process that
concluded, "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 Government of Saskatchewan has indicated its continued
support for the project.
Fortune's proposed hydrometallurgical plant would provide for 80
to 90 full-time employees with an annual payroll of approximately
$9 million. Using a typical
employment multiplier, this would result in two additional indirect
jobs for every employee creating another 170 jobs in the region.
Contracting opportunities during construction are estimated to be
valued at $76 million with annual
operational expenditures of approximately $25 million, totalling approximately $525 million over the current estimate of the
NICO mine life.
NICO is a unique primary cobalt deposit with mineral reserves
that also contain more than one million ounces of gold and
approximately 12% of global bismuth reserves. It is one of the few
advanced cobalt projects located outside of the Congo to mitigate risks from the geographic
concentration of supply in politically unstable countries and
support near-term accelerating demand. Cobalt is used in a number
of metal and chemical applications, but the greatest demand is in
lithium-ion batteries used to power portable electronic devices,
electric vehicles and stationary cells to store energy and make
electricity use more efficient from off-peak charging. Bismuth is
an eco-metal used primarily in the automotive and pharmaceutical
industries and has growing demand as a non-toxic and
environmentally safe replacement for lead in solder, brass,
aluminum and steel alloys and compounds and alloys that leverage
bismuth's expansion properties during cooling.
The disclosure of scientific and technical information
contained in this news release has been approved by Robin Goad, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and Chief
Executive Officer of Fortune, who is a "Qualified Person" under
National Instrument 43-101.
About Fortune Minerals
Fortune is a Canadian mining company focused on developing the
NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper Project in the Northwest Territories. The Company owns lands
and other interests in Saskatchewan where it may build a
hydrometallurgical plant to process NICO metal concentrates.
Fortune owns the Sue-Dianne Copper-Silver-Gold Deposit located 25
km north of the NICO Project, which is a potential future source of
incremental mill feed to extend the life of the NICO Project
mill.
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This press release contains forward-looking information and
forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable
securities legislation. This forward-looking information includes
statements with respect to, among other things, the Company's plans
to develop the NICO Project and build a hydrometallurgical refinery
in Saskatchewan or elsewhere, the
anticipated economic impact of such a refinery and the preparation
of an economic update for the NICO Project. 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 the necessary financing to continue operations and
develop the NICO Project; the receipt of all necessary regulatory
approvals for the construction and operation of the NICO Project
and the related hydrometallurgical refinery and the timing thereof;
the anticipated economic impact of such a refinery; the timing of
the economic update for the NICO Project and the results thereof;
growth in the demand for cobalt; the time required to construct the
NICO Project; and the economic environment in which the
Company will operate in the future, including the price of gold,
cobalt and other by-product metals, anticipated costs and the
volumes of metals to be produced at the NICO Project). 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 risks that
the Company may not be able to finance and develop NICO on
favourable terms or at all, uncertainties with respect to the
receipt or timing of required permits, approvals and agreements for
the development of the NICO Project, including the related
hydrometallurgical refinery, the construction of the NICO Project
may take longer than anticipated, the Company may not be able to
secure offtake agreements for the metals to be produced at the NICO
Project, the economic impact of a hydrometallurgical refinery may
not be as positive as anticipated, the planned economic update for
the NICO Project may take longer than anticipated and the results
thereof may not be as positive as anticipated, the inherent risks
involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties
and in the mining industry in general, the market for rechargeable
batteries and the use of stationary storage cells may not grow to
the extent anticipated, the future supply of cobalt may not be as
limited as anticipated, the risk of decreases in the market prices
of cobalt and other metals to be produced by the NICO Project,
discrepancies between actual and estimated mineral resources or
between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries,
uncertainties associated with estimating mineral resources and the
risk that even if such resources prove accurate the risk that such
resources may not be converted into mineral reserves, once economic
conditions are applied, the Company's production of cobalt and
other metals may be less than anticipated and other operational and
development risks, market risks and regulatory risks. 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