Business
Fortune Minerals updates NICO Field Programs - Supports Federal Government initiative to streamline northern regulatory process
Fortune Minerals updates NICO Field Programs - Supports Federal Government initiative to streamli...
About this update from Fortune Minerals Limited
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n May 11, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- Issued Capital: 94,779,407\n\n Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT) ("Fortune Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a progress report for its recently completed winter drill program on its 100% owned NICO Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper project in the Northwest Territories ("NWT"). NICO, located 160km northwest of the City of Yellowknife and 50km north of the community of Whati, is in the second phase of an Environmental Assessment to permit a mine and concentrator in the NWT. Bulk concentrate produced from the mine will be transported by truck and rail to the Company's proposed Saskatchewan Metals Processing Plant where it will be further processed to produce gold doré, and cobalt, bismuth and copper cathode high value metal products.\nDrilling equipment, fuel and other bulk supplies were mobilized to the NICO site over the winter ice road in February and March by Tlicho Logistics. Geotechnical and environmental drilling was conducted in March by Foraco Drilling Ltd. ("Foraco") to support engineering and construction planning for the mine and concentrator. Seven boreholes were drilled to collect geotechnical data along the centerline of the proposed dam alignments for the comingled tailings and mine rock management area and the effluent polishing pond. Packer testing of the bedrock was also conducted to assess the rock permeability for containment of process water. Thirteen monitoring wells were installed downstream from the dam alignments and the plant site to collect baseline water quality information and to monitor water quality during mine operations. The geotechnical and environmental work was supervised by Golder Associates Limited ("Golder"). Environmental scientists from Golder also collected additional surface and ground water samples, the latter from three deep monitoring wells established in the NICO ore zone to characterize and monitor water quality.\nCondemnation drilling was conducted beneath the proposed tailings and mine rock management area to test for the presence of any potential near-surface mineralization that would be sterilized by construction of these facilities. Condemnation drilling was also conducted beneath the effluent polishing pond. The winter drill program was conducted under the supervisio...