NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — Work continues to move forward on the NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper development owned by Fortune Minerals of London, ON. The mine site is 160 km northwest of Yellowknife. Concentrates will be shipped for further treatment to a refinery near Saskatoon, SK.
Front-end engineering and design (FEED) is underway for the mine and mill. Updated capital and operating cost estimates are expected to be available in Q2 2010. Resource estimates are also being revised using higher commodity prices than the 2007 feasibility study. Fortune says a new, more efficient mine plan has been developed and the milling rate increased to 4,650 t/d. The company also anticipates higher metal recoveries. The production of copper cathodes has been added to plans for the refinery, and the new resource estimate will include numbers for copper.
Fortune has entered into an agreement to purchase land for its hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon. The deal is subject to due diligence and certain conditions. The decision to locate the refinery in southern Canada rather than the Northwest Territories will reduce costs as the southern location has access to rail lines and other infrastructure.
Complete information about the NICO project is available at www.FortuneMinerals.com.
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