FORTUNE MINERALS COMPLETES OPTION AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE ALTERNATIVE SITE FOR PROPOSED METAL PROCESSING REFINERY Additional sites being evaluated based on expedited approvals process
April 23, 2019 Issued Capital: 347,303,220
NEWS RELEASE
FORTUNE MINERALS COMPLETES OPTION AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE
ALTERNATIVE SITE FOR PROPOSED METAL PROCESSING REFINERY
Additional sites being evaluated based on expedited approvals process
LONDON, ONTARIO, Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQ B: 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 vert ically 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 c onstruction 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
FORTUNE MINERALS LIMITED
148 Fullarton Street, Suite 1600, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5P3
Tel. 519-858-8188 ~ Fax. 519-858-8155
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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For further information please contact:
Fortune Minerals Limited
Troy Nazarewicz
Investor Relations Manager
Tel.: (519) 858-8188
www.fortuneminerals.com
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 o pinions 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 anticip ated 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 wi ll 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 N ICO 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 NIC O 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 th at 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 in formation 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.