FORTUNE MINERALS REPORTS TLICHO ALL-SEASON ROAD APPROVAL Public road clears environmental assessment process to enable NICO mine operations
April 4, 2018 Issued Capital: 338,403,220
NEWS RELEASE
FORTUNE MINERALS REPORTS TLICHO ALL-SEASON ROAD APPROVAL
Public road clears environmental assessment process to enable NICO mine operations
LONDON, ONTARIO, Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQX: FTMDF) (“Fortune” or the
“Company”) (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to report that the Mackenzie Valley Environmental
Impact Review Board (“Review Board ”) has recommended that the Tlicho all-season road (“Tlicho
Road”) be approved subject to measures designed to mitigate potential environmental, social and
cultural impacts. The Government of the Northwest Territories (“ GNWT”), Department of
Transportation and Tlicho Government received this conditional approval on March 29, 2018, enabling
construction of the 97-kilometre Tlicho Road to connect the community of Whatì to the territorial
highway system. Fortune has already received envir onmental assessment approval to build a 49-
kilometre spur road from Whati to its proposed NICO mine. Together, these roads will allow the
Company to transport metal concentrates from the mine to its proposed refinery in Saskatchewan for
downstream processing to cobalt sulphate, gold, bi smuth ingots and oxide, and copper precipitate to
support the growing green economy.
Fortune’s NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project (“NICO Project”) is a development stage primary
cobalt asset consisting of a planned mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories and refinery in
Saskatchewan. As an emerging vertically integrated Canadian producer of environmentally
responsible and ethical cobalt and bismuth, Fortune will be able to demonstrate supply chain
transparency and custody control of metals from ores through to the production of value-added
products. Development of the NICO Project will help alleviate supply chain concerns from the growing
demand for cobalt in the rapidly expanding lithium-ion battery industry from automotive electrification
and stationary storage of electricity for the grid. It will also mitigate geographic concentration of cobalt
supply from the politically unstable Congo (~67% of mine supply) and China (~80% of refined cobalt
chemical supply), as well as constraints on supply resulting from its production primarily as a by-
product of copper and nickel mining (~98% of non-artisanal cobalt mine supply) where the primary
metals determine production criteria.
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Tlicho Road:
The Tlicho Road project consists of 97 kilometres of new 2-lane gravel roadway from Highway 3 to
the community of Whatì, including four bridges and one large arched culvert. The GNWT Department
of Transportation has been working closely with the Tlicho Government since 2012 on this road
initiative to provide reliable year-round all-weather public road access to the community of Whatì and
improved winter road access to the communities of Gamètì and Wekweèti and mitigate the impacts of
climate change. The routing for the Tlicho Road follows an existing brownfield land-based winter road
route to minimize environmental disturbance and lower construction costs. Establishment of the road
will reduce the cost of living and improve the quality of life in the outlying Tlicho communities and
provide a catalyst for economic development in the region.
In January 2017, the Government of Canada announced it will provide up to 25% of the construction
costs for the Tlicho Road through the Canada Infrastructure Fund. The GNWT subsequently approved
funding for the remaining 75% of the cost through a Private-Public Partnership (“ P3”). Three qualified
consortia of international finance and construction companies were short-listed in 2017 to provide bids
FORTUNE MINERALS LIMITED
148 Fullarton Street, Suite 1600, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5P3
Tel. 519-858-8188 ~ Fax. 519-858-8155
to design, build, operate and maintain the road over a 29-year period and be repaid with interest by
the GNWT. Subject to requisite approvals and licensing, it is expected that the Tlicho Road tender will
be selected by the fourth quarter of 2018 and commencement of construction is targeted for early
2019. The report of environmental assessment can be vi ewed on the Review Board website using the
following link (view report here).
Provided that Fortune receives the requisite financing for the NICO Project and the remaining
regulatory approvals in 2018, construction of the mine facilities could begin in early 2019 using the
existing GNWT winter ice road and a new airstrip for access. Construction of the mine, mill,
concentrator and related facilities in the NWT is expected to take approximately two years to
complete, dependent on ice-road logistics, whereas the refinery requires only about 18 months for
construction.
Fortune’s NICO Project is one of few new cobalt assets globally with the potential to be in production
by the early 2020’s and help meet the demand growth from transformation of the automotive industry.
The disclosure of scientific and technical informatio n 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 vertically integrated NICO cobalt-
gold-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories and a related refinery the Company plans to
construct in Saskatchewan. Fortune also owns the Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit located 25
km north of NICO and a potential future source of incremental mill feed to potentially extend the life of
the NICO 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 informat ion 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 (including the Company’s plans to secure project
financing to start construction), the construction of the Tlicho Road and timing thereof, future production of
metals from the NICO Project, anticipated growth in the demand for coba lt and anticipated constraints on the
supply of cobalt. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management as well as
certain assumptions at the date the info rmation 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, as sumptions regarding the construction of the NICO
Project and Tlicho Road and the timing of their completion; assumptions regarding growth in the demand for
cobalt, restrictions on the supply of cobalt and the economic environment in which the Company will operate in
the future, including the price of gold, cobalt and other by-product metals). However, such forward-looking
information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertaint ies and other factors that c ould 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 and agreements for the development of the NICO Project and
the Tlicho Road and the timing of construction of each of them, , the inherent risks involved in the exploration
and development of mineral properties and in the mi ning industry in general; the market for rechargeable
batteries and the use of stationary st orage 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; uncertain ties associated with estimating mineral resources and
the risk that even if such resources prove accurate the risk that such resource s 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 deve lopment risks, market ri sks and regulatory risks.
Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forwar d-looking information because it is possible that
predictions, forecasts, proj ections and other forms of forward-lookin g 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 refl ect new events or circumstances, except as required by
law.