COAL STUDY: Mount Klappan economics confirmed

BRITISH COLUMBIA — Fortune Minerals of London, Ont., calls its Mount Klappan anthracite coal project in northwest B.C. "one of the world's largest". Thanks to the falling value of the Canadian dollar, the economics look "robust" according to the updated feasibility study, says the company. The pre-tax IRR has jumped to 40.9% from 28.9% and the discounted pre-tax NPV to $1.3 billion from $702.7 million.

The study considers development of the Lost Fox deposit, one of four on the property. It looked at a 3.0-million-t/y open pit and production of a premium 10% ash ultra-low volatile pulverized coal injection (PCI) product.

The Mount Klappan coal licences were first acquired by Gulf in 1981. That company did some test mining in 1985 and 1986, but elected in 1990 not to develop the project. Fortune purchased the licences in 2002. A development decision will undoubtedly depend on the outlook for global steel markets.

Read the press releases at www.FortuneMinerals.com for the latest project information.