NEWS RELEASE
Sept. 25th 2001
FORTUNE MINERALS ANNOUNCES FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO METAL RECOVERIES FROM THE NICO DEPOSIT
Fortune Minerals announces that recent work has resulted in further improvements to the metal recoveries predicted for its 80% owned NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth deposit in the Northwest Territories. NICO is a large, low-grade deposit amenable to open pit extraction with a low strip ratio. It is favorably located, only 8km from the past producing Rayrock mine and access road, 20km from surplus power from the Snare Hydro complex, and 160km from the City of Yellowknife. There are existing facilities in Yellowknife capable of processing NICO concentrates with minor modifications.
Extensive flotation metallurgical test work was carried out over the last year at Lakefield Research Limited on composite core samples from the NICO deposit. The work was done under the supervision of Klaus Konigsmann of KVK Consulting Associates Inc. The additional studies were required to reflect modifications to the processing flow sheet from bismuth recovery and the grade of ores now contemplated to be mined as a result of lower operating costs and greater pit efficiencies. Results are being incorporated into a more detailed, updated economic assessment of the NICO deposit by Strathcona Mineral Services Limited who are acting as “Qualified Person” in compliance with National Instrument 43-101.
Ores produced from the NICO deposit would be processed by conventional crushing and grinding followed by flotation to generate auriferous cobalt and bismuth concentrates. Results of recent locked cycle tests have increased the predicted cobalt recovery to 85%. Cobalt concentrate grades are expected to vary from 1.7% for the upper parts of the deposit to nearly 5% cobalt for the lower parts, with the deposit average in the range of 2.5 to 3%. The variety of grades in the concentrate is a function of the cobalt content of the host minerals, which increases systematically with depth in the deposit. Bismuth recovery is now predicted at 55% from the previously reported 43%, in a concentrate, grading 40% bismuth. Gold recovery has also increased in the recent tests and is now predicted to range between 55% and 70%, with recovery increasing incrementally with head grades greater than 0.5g/t. Gold grades increase with depth within the deposit and recoveries in early years of production will be 55%.
In addition to improvements in metal recovery, flotation of NICO ores incorporates a simple flow sheet with relatively coarse grinding and low reagent consumption. Operating and capital costs for the milling operation are predicted by Mr. Konigsmann to fall into the low range in comparison to similar sized plants. Furthermore, NICO has a very high concentration ratio of approximately 40:1 for the cobalt concentrate and between 300 and 400:1 for the bismuth concentrate. Consequently, higher cost downstream processing would only be carried out on a small percentage of the original ore, which is an important economic characteristic of the NICO deposit. Previous environmental testing of tailings from the deposit has shown that solids have a high neutralization potential and will not generate acid. Combined tailings liquids also showed very low concentrations of heavy and trace metals that are well below regulatory limits.
Downstream processing of sulphide concentrates produced from the NICO deposit is now contemplated to be off-site. The cobalt concentrate would be trucked to Yellowknife or other facilities and processed by acid pressure oxidation at 160ºC, followed by solvent extraction to precipitate metal or higher value cobalt compounds. Gold would be recovered by cyanidation of the residue. Two smelters have already indicated their interest in purchasing bismuth concentrates from the NICO deposit and would credit the contained gold. Notably, NICO bismuth concentrates would be very high grade relative to concentrates produced from other deposits and would also be highly desirable because they do not contain lead.
The cobalt market has been growing at approximately 4.5% per annum over the last ten years and consumption in 2000 was more than 40,000 tonnes. Expansion of the market is continuing, primarily as a result of increasing consumption of cobalt superalloys, and cobalt chemicals used in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries and catalysts. Although primarily a cobalt-gold deposit, NICO contains one of the largest resources of bismuth in the world. The bismuth market has been expanding at an even greater rate, largely due to its replacement for lead in a number of products because of lead-toxicity and related environmental issues.
Strathcona has updated the NICO resources and their report assessing the economics of the deposit is in preparation. A summary will be released when it becomes available.
Fortune Minerals is an exploration company with diverse interests in projects in the Northwest Territories and Ontario. It is the operating partner in the NICO and Sue-Dianne deposits and has interests in other base and precious metals and diamond exploration projects. Fortune is the operating partner in Formosa Environmental Aggregates Ltd., an industrial mineral development company.
Fortune Minerals Limited
[signed]
Robin E. Goad,
President.
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Listing: TSE, symbol “FT”
Issued Capital: 17,586,669
Further information can be obtained from Fortune Minerals at: Tel: 519-858-8188, Fax: 519-858-8155, Email: info@fortuneminerals.com, and website:www.fortuneminerals.com |
