NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — Fortune Minerals of London, Ont., has decided to boost the production rate at its Nico gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project 160 km southwest of Yellowknife to 4,650 t/d from 4,000 t/d. The increase is made possible by minor modifications to the processing plant the company purchased from the Golden Giant mine at Hemlo, Ont.
Specifically, grinding capacity is to be increased by reconfiguring one of the grinding mills to a rod mill, followed by three secondary ball mills in parallel closed circuit. Operating costs are estimated to remain essentially unchanged. The increased feed requirements will be met with no significant changes to the mining fleet, primary crusher or flotation circuits as already specified, says Fortune.
The Nico deposit contains total proven and probable mineral reserves of 21.8 million tonnes, containing 760,000 oz of gold, 61 million lb of cobalt and 77 million lb of bismuth. The underground portion of the reserves are 12.2 million tonnes, grading 5.07 g/t Au, 0.14% Co and 0.19% Bi. The open pit portion of the reserves are 20.6 million tonnes, grading 0.85 g/t Au, 0.13% Co and 0.16% Bi. Copper will be produced as a byproduct but is not included in the reserve estimate.
Highlights of the Nico bankable feasibility study are posted at www.FortuneMinerals.com in the Project section.
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