Issued Capital: 108,644,814
FORTUNE MINERALS ANNOUNCES PERMITTING UPDATE FOR NICO
MINE & CONCENTRATOR IN NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA
Developers Assessment Report passes conformity check with no deficiencies
London, ON - August 23, 2011 - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT) (�Fortune� or the �Company�) is pleased to provide an update of the Environmental Assessment (�EA�) process currently underway in the Northwest Territories (�NT�) to permit the mine and mill for the Company�s NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit, 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife, and 50 km northeast of Whati. The Mackenzie Valley Review Board (�MVRB�) is conducting this EA after NICO was referred by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada in February 2009. The Terms of Reference (�TOR�) for the EA were received later that year and the Company submitted its Developers Assessment Report (�DAR�) in May, 2011 to address the issues that had been identified. Fortune is pleased to report that the MVRB has completed its conformity check - no deficiencies were identified and the EA has advanced to the next phase.
Dr. Rick Schryer, Fortune�s Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs, stated that, �our DAR is a very comprehensive report that culminates more than two years of work to document the technical, environmental and socio-economic aspects of the NICO development. We were very confident in the quality of work that was done to prepare detailed information and analysis on a wide variety of subject areas and respond to 40 pages of issues that had been identified in the TOR. Fortune was able to successfully address all of the issues and the NICO EA has progressed to the analytical phase.�
Fortune is also pleased to announce that former Chief Charlie Jim Nitsiza has joined the Company as the NICO Project Community Relations Co-ordinator. Mr. Nitsiza, a long-time resident of Whati, was Chief of this closest community to the NICO development for twelve years starting in 1998 until 2009. He was also a member of the Regional Economic Board from 1980 to 2007 that established Nishi� Khon Forest Service, one of the earliest Tlicho-owned businesses that became the Tlicho Investment Corporation group of companies. Charlie Jim Nitsiza will continue to be based in Whati and his primary role will be to consult and communicate with the Tlicho people in all four communities about the impacts and benefits of the NICO Project to local residents.
Robin Goad, President and CEO of Fortune, commented that, �we are very excited to add Charlie Jim to our NICO team. His wealth of experience with his land and his people will be an asset to Fortune as we move ahead with the permitting and development of the NICO project.�
The 31 million tonne NICO deposit will be developed using a combination of open pit and underground mining methods with ores processed at the rate of 4,650 tonnes per day in a concentrator at the site over an 18-year mine life. Other facilities that are planned at the site include a camp to accommodate employees working on a rotation basis, ancillary buildings and a 27 km all-season access road that will join the site to the proposed Tlicho Road connecting nearby communities with the highway to Yellowknife. The mill will produce approximately 180 tonnes of bulk concentrate per day for shipment south to the Company�s proposed hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon and further processing to high value metal products. An EA is also underway in Saskatchewan to permit the refinery. Fortune Minerals plans to be a significant, reliable North American-based supplier of 99.8% cobalt cathode, 99.5% bismuth cathode and 99.99% bismuth ingot, gold dor�, and by-product production of copper cathode and nickel precipitate.
About Fortune Minerals Limited:
Fortune Minerals Limited is a diversified resource company with several mineral deposits and a number of exploration projects, all located in Canada. The Company is focused on the development of the Mount Klappan anthracite metallurgical coal deposits in British Columbia and the NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit in the Northwest Territories (�NT�). As part of the development of the NICO deposit, Fortune is developing a metals processing plant in Saskatchewan and has acquired the buildings and equipment from the Golden Giant Mine at Hemlo, Ontario, which have been dismantled, moved, and stored for relocation to NICO. In addition, the Company owns the Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit and other exploration projects in the NT. Fortune is focused on outstanding performance and growth of shareholder value through assembly and development of high quality mineral resource projects.
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Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information. This forward-looking information includes statements with respect to, among other things, the proposed development of the NICO project and the proposed purchase and development of the site for the Saskatchewan Metals Processing Plant (�SMPP�). Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is given, and 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 inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the inherent volatility of metal prices, the risk that the Company may not be able to arrange the necessary financing to construct and operate the NICO mine and the SMPP, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of required permits for the development of the NICO project and the SMPP, the possibility of delays in the commencement of production from the NICO project and construction of the SMPP and other factors. 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 information 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. |
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