Consultants engaged and work nearing completion
on site purchase option validation
Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF)
(“Fortune” or the “Company”)
(www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to report that due-diligence
activities are advancing on the Company’s proposed new refinery
site location in Lamont County in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland
northeast of Edmonton (see Fortune news release dated January 24,
2022). Fortune entered into an option agreement with JFSL Field
Services ULC (“JFSL”) in January to allow it to purchase the
site and existing facilities of this former steel fabrication plant
in order to construct the hydrometallurgical refinery for the
planned NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine in the Northwest
Territories. The refinery would process metal concentrates from the
mine to produce Critical Mineral products including cobalt
sulphate, bismuth ingots and oxide, and a copper precipitate needed
for the transition to new technologies. The NICO Mineral Reserves
also contain more than 1.1 million ounces of in-situ gold providing
a highly liquid and countercyclical co-product to mitigate Critical
Mineral price volatility. The vertically integrated NICO
cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project (“NICO Project”) is one
of the few advanced cobalt development assets in the world outside
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support the near-term
demand growth in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries used in
electric vehicles (“EV’s’), portable electronics and
stationary storage cells.
Fortune has retained several engineering and environmental
consultants to determine the suitability of the JFSL site and
facilities to accommodate the planned NICO Project refinery and
provide a regulatory roadmap to secure the remaining permits. The
JFSL site is comprised of 76.78 acres of lands adjacent to the
Canadian National Railway and has more than 40,000 square feet of
serviced shops and buildings that Fortune believes will materially
reduce capital costs for the planned development. Subject to
arranging the applicable financing required to exercise the option,
the results of this work will provide the information needed to
make an informed decision on whether to complete the C$5.5 million
purchase prior to the July 24th, 2022 expiry of the option.
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Environmental and Regulatory Roadmap
The JFSL site is situated within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland,
an association of five municipalities designated specifically to
attract heavy industry with the zoning approvals already in place
as well as tax incentives keyed to capital investment. Fortune has
also received indicative terms from a major environmental company
to dispose of the refinery process residue in an existing
government compliant waste disposal facility, thereby removing a
major hurdle in the approvals process. Fortune has engaged
Advisian, the consulting business of Worley , to develop an
environmental and regulatory roadmap with an outline of the
remaining regulatory approvals and permits needed by the Company to
construct and operate the NICO Project refinery. The Advisian work
has identified the environmental work and engineering activities
that are required to progress the site through the Alberta
approvals process and provides a plan for stakeholder engagement. A
draft of the Advisian report has been received and Fortune expects
to receive the final report and amendments later this month.
Notably, there are no issues identified which would preclude
Fortune from developing the JFSL site. Fortune is working with its
environmental and engineering companies to reduce its environmental
footprint and associated impacts. Currently, no major triggers for
a provincial environmental impact assessment (EIA) have been
identified; however, the NICO Project refinery will need an
exemption from the provincial approvals division in Alberta to rule
out an EIA.
Site Assessment
Stantec Consulting Ltd. (“Stantec”) was retained by
Fortune to review the JFSL site and major facilities and provide a
visual assessment of the major building and site systems, including
their mechanical and electrical systems, fire safety systems and
any required maintenance. The Stantec mandate also included
examination of the exterior site, including grade improvements,
parking areas, fencing, and the overall condition of the site and
suitability for the Company’s planned use. The Stantec report has
been received in draft and the site and facilities were generally
assessed to be in good condition with minor deficiencies noted,
together with the estimated costs for their repairs.
Bismuth Process and Building Suitability
Fortune has also retained Worley and Alex Mezei, P.Eng., an
independent consulting Chemical Engineer and Metallurgist
(“Mezei”), to conduct a review of the existing process data
and metallurgical test work for the bismuth circuits. The ferric
chloride leach process has been well established from test work and
pilot plant tests. However, the Company is now planning to use
cementation to precipitate the bismuth from the leach solution
prior to smelting and pouring metal ingots and/or calcining the
molten metal to an oxide product. While Fortune has already
conducted cementation tests, Worley and Mezei are producing the
Basis of Design as well as assessing the scope and budget for any
additional test work required for detailed engineering and
construction. Worley is also preparing a general suitability
assessment of the JFSL buildings for use in accommodating the NICO
Project refinery bismuth and gold circuits.
The afore-mentioned contracts are all well advanced and intended
to validate the opportunities Fortune has preliminarily identified
to achieve capital cost savings from the JFSL site and facilities.
Fortune is also engaged with Lamont County, the Alberta Government
and Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association as well as local
vendors and service providers to support the Company during
construction and operations. These include railways and terminals,
lime, acid, process water, power, natural gas and oxygen suppliers,
and brine disposal facilities – all available from nearby sources
to support NICO Project refinery operations.
The NICO Project is an advanced development stage Critical
Minerals asset that is expected to provide a reliable North
American source of Critical Minerals and gold in western Canada.
Fortune has expended more than C$137 million to advance the NICO
Project from an in-house discovery to a near-term producer with a
minimum 20-year supply of Critical Minerals.
About Fortune Minerals:
Fortune is a Canadian mining company focused on developing the
NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper Critical Minerals project in the
NWT and Alberta. Fortune also owns the satellite Sue-Dianne
copper-silver-gold deposit located 25 km north of the NICO Deposit
and is a potential future source of incremental mill feed to extend
the life of the NICO mill and concentrator.
For more detailed information about the NICO Mineral Reserves
and certain technical information in this news release, please
refer to the Technical Report on the NICO Project, entitled
"Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for the
NICO-Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper Project, Northwest Territories,
Canada", dated April 2, 2014 and prepared by Micon International
Limited which has been filed on SEDAR and is available under the
Company's profile at www.sedar.com.
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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 development of
the NICO Project, the completion of due diligence on the JFSL site,
the successful exercise of the option by Fortune over the JSFL
site, the potential for expansion of the NICO Deposit and
statements regarding drill results and future drilling and assays.
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 complete construction of a NICO Project
refinery; the Company’s ability to arrange the necessary financing
to continue operations, acquire the JSFL site, and develop the NICO
Project including construction of the related hydrometallurgical
refinery on the JSFL site; the support of the federal and/or
provincial government for 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; 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 2021 drill program may not result in a
meaningful expansion of the NICO Deposit, the continuing effects of
the COVID-19, the Company may not be able to complete the purchase
of the JSFL site or secure a site for the construction of a
refinery, the Company may not be able to finance and develop the
NICO Project 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 Company’s Sue-Dianne Property may not be
developed to the point where it can provide mill feed to the NICO
Project, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and
development of mineral properties and in the mining industry in
general, the market for products that use cobalt or bismuth may not
grow to the extent anticipated, the future supply of cobalt and
bismuth may not be as limited as anticipated, the risk of decreases
in the market prices of cobalt, bismuth 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 Reserves and the risk that even if such
Mineral Resources prove accurate the risk that such Mineral
Resources may not be converted into Mineral Reserves once economic
conditions are applied, the Company’s production of cobalt, bismuth
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.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220608005750/en/
Fortune Minerals Limited Troy Nazarewicz Investor
Relations Manager info@fortuneminerals.com Tel: (519) 858-8188
www.fortuneminerals.com
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