Issued Capital: 94,779,407
FORTUNE MINERALS UPDATES NICO FIELD PROGRAMS �
SUPPORTS
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO STREAMLINE
NORTHERN
REGULATORY PROCESS
London, ON - May 11, 2010 - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT)
(�Fortune Minerals� or the �Company�) is pleased to provide a progress report for its recently
completed winter drill program on its 100% owned NICO
Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper project in the Northwest Territories
(�NWT�). NICO, located 160km northwest of the City of Yellowknife
and 50km north of the community of Whati, is in the second phase of an
Environmental Assessment to permit a mine and concentrator in the
NWT. Bulk concentrate produced from the mine will be transported by
truck and rail to the Company�s proposed Saskatchewan Metals Processing
Plant where it will be further processed to produce gold dor�, and
cobalt, bismuth and copper cathode high value metal products.
Drilling
equipment, fuel and other bulk supplies were mobilized to the NICO site
over the winter ice road in February and March by Tlicho Logistics.
Geotechnical and environmental drilling was conducted in March by Foraco
Drilling Ltd. (�Foraco�) to support engineering and construction planning
for the mine and concentrator. Seven boreholes were drilled to
collect geotechnical data along the centerline of the proposed dam
alignments for the comingled tailings and mine rock management area and
the effluent polishing pond. Packer testing of the bedrock was also
conducted to assess the rock permeability for containment of process
water. Thirteen monitoring wells were installed downstream from the
dam alignments and the plant site to collect baseline water qu ality
information and to monitor water quality during mine operations. The
geotechnical and environmental work was supervised by Golder Associates
Limited (�Golder�). Environmental scientists from Golder also
collected additional surface and ground water samples, the latter from
three deep monitoring wells established in the NICO ore zone to
characterize and monitor water quality.
Condemnation
drilling was conducted beneath the proposed tailings and mine rock
management area to test for the presence of any potential near-surface
mineralization that would be sterilized by construction of these
facilities. Condemnation drilling was also conducted beneath the
effluent polishing pond. The winter drill program was conducted
under the supervision of Mr. Robert Van Egmond, B.Sc., P.Geo., who is a
Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
Drilling
will resume at NICO in mid-June with additional shallow geotechnical
holes being drilled in the plant site area to assess bedrock quality for
the design of building and equipment foundations. EBA Engineering
Limited is conducting the geotechnical work for the construction of
buildings and surface infrastructure.
Additional
drilling will be conducted in the NICO deposit after completion of the
geotechnical drill program in order to test for extensions to the known
mineral reserves where the orebody remains open for possible expansion at
depth and along strike. Notably, there is good potential to expand
the gold-rich part of the deposit. The NICO deposit currently
contains Proven and Probable Underground and Open Pit Mineral Reserves of
31 million tonnes, averaging 0.91 g/t gold, 0.12% cobalt, 0.16% bismuth
and 0.04% copper, containing 907,000 ounces of gold, 82 million pounds of
cobalt, 109 million pounds of bismuth and 27 million pounds of
copper. For additional information on the NICO mineral reserves,
please see Fortune Minerals� News Release, dated January 14, 2010 and the
information posted for the Company on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Eugene
Puritch, P.Eng. and Fred H. Brown, CPG PrSciNat, both of P&E, are the
Qualified Persons responsible for the NICO mineral reserves under NI
43-101.
Fortune
Minerals is pleased to report that the Government of Canada announced
last week an �Action Plan� to improve the northern regulatory process and
help unlock the resource potential in Canada's North, which is recognized
world-wide. The initiative announced by The Honourable Chuck
Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Minister
of the Canadian Economic Development Agency, will reportedly ensure that
Northern regulatory regimes are more effective, predictable and provide
greater certainty to industry, Northerners and all Canadians by
introducing legislative changes to improve regulatory processes and
reduce overlap and duplication. The government has committed $11
million to streamline the regulatory regime and $8 million to support
commu nity-based environmental monitoring. Fortune Minerals
supports this initiative to ensure shovel-ready projects like NICO,
transition the permitting process in a timely manner.
About Fortune Minerals:
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 its NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit
in the Northwest Territories and its metals processing plant in
Saskatchewan. Fortune Minerals owns the buildings and equipment
from the Golden Giant Mine at Hemlo, Ontario, which have been dismantled
for relocation to NICO. Fortune Minerals also owns the Mount
Klappan anthracite coal deposits in British Columbia, and the, the
Sue-Dianne copper-silver deposit and other exploration projects in the
Northwest Territories. Fortune Minerals is focused on outstan ding
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, projected rates of
production and sources of revenue for the NICO project, the projected
mine life of the NICO project, the proposed purchase and development of
the site for the SMPP, and the proposed implementation of corporate
income tax incentives by the Saskatchewan government. 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 r isk 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, uncertainties related to the implementation of the proposed
tax incentives 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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