Fortune Minerals submits Environmental Assessment documents for NICO project
2011-05-26 00:18:06 [Print]
PITTSBURGH (Asian Metal) 25 May 11 – Canada-based Fortune Minerals announced yesterday that it has submitted a Developers Assessment Report (DAR) for the Environmental Assessment for the NICO project located in the Northwest Territories. The submission of these documents represents a significant milestone for the company in achieving the appropriate permits to continue with the proposed mine plan construction. Certain issues regarding safety to the surrounding inhabitants and ecosystem have been changed to protect the topography of the area.
The NICO gold-bismuth-cobalt-copper project is a 31 million ton deposit located 160km northwest of the capital of Yellowknife. The project will be developed using a combination of open pit and underground mining methods with ore processed at a rate of 4,650t/d at an on-site concentrator for the entire 18-year projected mine life. The mill is expected to produce 180t/d of bulk concentrate for shipment south to the company’s proposed hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon. An environmental assessment (EA) is currently underway in Saskatchewan to permit the refinery. After production is expected in late 2012, Fortune Minerals anticipates to be a large supplier of 99.8%min cobalt cathode, 99.5%min bismuth cathode and 99.99%min bismuth ingot with secondary production of copper cathode and nickel precipitate.
“We are very proud of the development, operation and closure plan prepared for the DAR by our in-house team of professionals together with experts retained from outside engineering and environmental consultants,” Robin Goad, President of Fortune Minerals stated in a company press release. “NICO is a unique project that will provide long-term benefits to the Tlicho people and other nearby residents, and contribute significantly to the economy of the Northwest Territories.”
Fortune Minerals has been collecting date for over two years in an effort to submit the needed documents to the proper authorities. Since filing the applications, the company has worked tirelessly to refine the project design in order to minimize and/or eliminate potential environmental impacts that construction and operation of NICO could have on the surrounding area and wildlife.
Key improvements to the design plan include the elimination of rock management area in favor of a co-disposal facility (CDF) where mine rock and tailings can be stored together. The water management system has been optimized in terms of internal recycling within the plant, thickening of tailings, and incorporating a high level of reclaim water from the CDF back to the concentrator. Also, the company will reduce the quantity of process chemicals that would have been used at the site by producing a concentrate for shipment to the proposed hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon.
The 3,000 page DAR provides evidence that the NICO project will have significant positive impacts on the economies of the Northwest Territories and surrounding Tlicho communities. During its 18-year operating life, NICO will contribute approximately USD128 million per year to the GDP of the Northwest Territories and will contribute USD24 million per year in revenues to the federal and territorial governments. Total GDP for the entire operational phase of the project is expected to reach a total of USD2.3 billion.
“Fortune is confident it has met the requirements of the Terms of References and we look forward to working with the Tlicho people, other stakeholders, regulatory agencies and the MVRB during the DAR review process to move this project to the final phase of mine permitting,” Rick Schryer, Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs for Fortune Minerals commented in a company statement.
Average annual production of cobalt and bismuth is expected to be four million pounds and 4.2 million pounds, respectively. The NICO project is also anticipated to be the largest producer of bismuth in the world. NICO has total mineral reserves of 21.8 million tons containing 61 million pounds of cobalt and 77 million pounds of bismuth.
NICO reserves are expected to support a minimum 15-year mine life at 4,000t/d of ore, equating to a total of 1.46 million tons each year according to a production rate used in a feasibility study done in 2007. Recently, Fortune Minerals found out that it is able to reconfigure its grinding mills to increase production by 16% to a rate of 4,650t/d at the same operating cost. The company figures that approximately 30% of the mill feed during the first two years of the mine-life will be sourced from the underground part of the mine using open stoping methods, scoop trams, and underground haul trucks.
Ores at the site will be processed by conventional crushing, grinding and flotation to generate gold-bearing cobalt and bismuth concentrates. Cobalt will be processed by pressure acid leach of the cobalt concentrate, followed by ion exchange and electro-winning to produce 99.8% cathode. Bismuth will be processed by acid leach of the bismuth concentrate, followed by electro-winning to produce 99.5% cathode.
Shares of Fortune Minerals (TSE:FT) rose 7.46% at market close to end at CAD1.44 per share.
The NICO gold-bismuth-cobalt-copper project is a 31 million ton deposit located 160km northwest of the capital of Yellowknife. The project will be developed using a combination of open pit and underground mining methods with ore processed at a rate of 4,650t/d at an on-site concentrator for the entire 18-year projected mine life. The mill is expected to produce 180t/d of bulk concentrate for shipment south to the company’s proposed hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon. An environmental assessment (EA) is currently underway in Saskatchewan to permit the refinery. After production is expected in late 2012, Fortune Minerals anticipates to be a large supplier of 99.8%min cobalt cathode, 99.5%min bismuth cathode and 99.99%min bismuth ingot with secondary production of copper cathode and nickel precipitate.
“We are very proud of the development, operation and closure plan prepared for the DAR by our in-house team of professionals together with experts retained from outside engineering and environmental consultants,” Robin Goad, President of Fortune Minerals stated in a company press release. “NICO is a unique project that will provide long-term benefits to the Tlicho people and other nearby residents, and contribute significantly to the economy of the Northwest Territories.”
Fortune Minerals has been collecting date for over two years in an effort to submit the needed documents to the proper authorities. Since filing the applications, the company has worked tirelessly to refine the project design in order to minimize and/or eliminate potential environmental impacts that construction and operation of NICO could have on the surrounding area and wildlife.
Key improvements to the design plan include the elimination of rock management area in favor of a co-disposal facility (CDF) where mine rock and tailings can be stored together. The water management system has been optimized in terms of internal recycling within the plant, thickening of tailings, and incorporating a high level of reclaim water from the CDF back to the concentrator. Also, the company will reduce the quantity of process chemicals that would have been used at the site by producing a concentrate for shipment to the proposed hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon.
The 3,000 page DAR provides evidence that the NICO project will have significant positive impacts on the economies of the Northwest Territories and surrounding Tlicho communities. During its 18-year operating life, NICO will contribute approximately USD128 million per year to the GDP of the Northwest Territories and will contribute USD24 million per year in revenues to the federal and territorial governments. Total GDP for the entire operational phase of the project is expected to reach a total of USD2.3 billion.
“Fortune is confident it has met the requirements of the Terms of References and we look forward to working with the Tlicho people, other stakeholders, regulatory agencies and the MVRB during the DAR review process to move this project to the final phase of mine permitting,” Rick Schryer, Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs for Fortune Minerals commented in a company statement.
Average annual production of cobalt and bismuth is expected to be four million pounds and 4.2 million pounds, respectively. The NICO project is also anticipated to be the largest producer of bismuth in the world. NICO has total mineral reserves of 21.8 million tons containing 61 million pounds of cobalt and 77 million pounds of bismuth.
NICO reserves are expected to support a minimum 15-year mine life at 4,000t/d of ore, equating to a total of 1.46 million tons each year according to a production rate used in a feasibility study done in 2007. Recently, Fortune Minerals found out that it is able to reconfigure its grinding mills to increase production by 16% to a rate of 4,650t/d at the same operating cost. The company figures that approximately 30% of the mill feed during the first two years of the mine-life will be sourced from the underground part of the mine using open stoping methods, scoop trams, and underground haul trucks.
Ores at the site will be processed by conventional crushing, grinding and flotation to generate gold-bearing cobalt and bismuth concentrates. Cobalt will be processed by pressure acid leach of the cobalt concentrate, followed by ion exchange and electro-winning to produce 99.8% cathode. Bismuth will be processed by acid leach of the bismuth concentrate, followed by electro-winning to produce 99.5% cathode.
Shares of Fortune Minerals (TSE:FT) rose 7.46% at market close to end at CAD1.44 per share.
Bismuth Ingot 99.99%min FOB China
Unit:USD/lb
China bismuth ingot producers' sales volume statistics by province by month
Unit: mt
