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Fortune Minerals to locate NICO hydrometallurgical process facility in southern Canada
Issued Capital: 64,890,857 LONDON, ON, July 28 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT) ("Fortun...
About this update from Fortune Minerals Limited
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nIssued Capital: 64,890,857\n\n\nLONDON, ON, July 28 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT) ("Fortune\nMinerals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its decision to locate the\nhydrometallurgical part of the process plant to treat concentrates produced\nfrom its NICO Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper development in the Northwest\nTerritories (NWT) to a site in southern Canada. This change in the NICO\nproject will have a material positive impact on both capital and operating\ncosts for the development. It will also help mitigate future exposure to\nincreasing energy costs, accelerate the construction schedule, reduce\nenvironmental impacts, and help speed the permitting process already in\nprogress.\n\n\nThe NICO mine is located 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife, 22\nkm west of the Snare hydro complex and 50 km northeast of the community of\nWhati, NWT. NICO is a proposed vertically integrated project to mine and\nprocess ores to high value metal products, including gold dore, cobalt and\nbismuth cathodes (metal) and a minor amount of copper and nickel by-products\nusing proven hydrometallurgical process methods that have been confirmed in\ntwo pilot plant tests and are used at existing refineries.\n\n\nThe Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, that is\nconducting the environmental assessment for the NICO development, and\nrepresentatives of the federal, NWT and Tlicho (aboriginal) governments have\nbeen notified of Fortune Minerals' decision. The mine, mill and flotation\nconcentrator will be constructed in the NWT as originally planned. Conversely,\nthe downstream hydrometallurgical part of the process plant, comprised of\npressure and acid leaching followed by electro-winning to high value metal\nproducts, and the gold leach circuit, will now be constructed at a site in\nsouthern Canada. Numerous locations have been investigated to construct this\n"Southern Hydrometallurgical Facility" (SHMF) over the past 6 months. Fortune\nMinerals has now shortlisted four sites in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba\nand plans to acquire one of these sites shortly.\n\n\nApproximately 80,000 tonnes of metal concentrates produced at NICO each\nyear will be transported from the property by truck (5+ trucks per day) to the\nrail head at Hay River, NWT for delivery to the SHMF by rail...