Name of the Project
NICO gold/cobalt/bismuth/copper mine project.

Location
The proposed NICO mine is located 50 km north of the Tlicho community of Whati and 160 km north-west of Yellowknife, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Client
Fortune Minerals.

Project Description
The NICO project is a development-stage primary cobalt asset consisting of a planned mine, mill and concentrator in the Northwest Territories and hydrometallurgical refinery in Saskatchewan to process concentrates from the mine into cobalt sulphate, gold, bismuth ingot and oxide, and a copper precipitate.

The NICO deposit contains openpit and underground proven and probable mineral reserves totalling 33.1-million tonnes containing 1 085 000 oz of gold, 82.3-million pounds of cobalt, 102.1-million pounds of bismuth and 27.2-million pounds of copper.

According to the project’s 2014 feasibility study, at the planned mill throughput rate of 4 650 t/d of ore, the mineral reserves will sustain operations for 21 years.

Openpit methods will be used, with underground ores contributing 22% of the mill feed during the second year of operations. The openpit part of the mine will be a conventional truck-and-shovel/loader operation, accomplished in four phases at an average waste-to-ore strip ratio of 3.0:1.

The underground portion of the mine will be mined by a contractor using retreat blasthole open stoping, providing access for gold-rich, higher-grade ores.

The ore will be processed in two stages at the NICO site and Saskatchewan metals processing plant. At the NICO site, an average of 4 650 t/d of ore will be processed in a crushing, grinding and flotation concentrator to produce about 180 t/d of wet bulk concentrate.

Construction of the NICO mine and concentrator is planned using the existing winter ice road, but all-season road access is required for mine operations. The Tlicho road will be a permanent 97 km highway, extending north from Highway 3 to Whatı in the Northwest Territorries. Fortune has received environmental assessment approval to construct a spur road from Whatı to the mine site.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
According to the 2014 feasibility study, the project has a levered pretax net present value, at a 7% discount rate of $254-million in the base case, and an internal rate of return of 15.6%.

Value
The 2014 feasibility estimated capital expenditure at C$589-million plus working capital.

Duration
Construction of the mine facilities could begin in 2019 and is expected to take about two years, depending on ice-road logistics. The refinery requires about 18 months for construction unless it is deferred. This construction timeline would allow the NICO project to be in commercial production in the early 2020s as the global automotive industry intensifies electric vehicle production.

Latest Developments
The Northwest Territories government has signed an agreement with North Star Infrastructure to construct the Tlicho all-season road to the community of Whati, 50 km south of Fortune Minerals’ proposed Nico cobalt/gold/bismuth/copper mine.

As part of its proposed development, Fortune plans to build a spur road to connect with the Tlicho road to allow for concentrates produced from the mine to be transported south for processing to value-added products.

Construction of the 97 km Tlicho road will begin this year and will be completed in 2022. The two-lane gravel highway will extend north from Highway 3 to Whati and will cost C$213.8-million to build.

The government of Canada is providing up to 25% of these costs through the P3 Canada Fund. The Northwest Territories government is funding the remaining 75%, using a private–public partnership structure with North Star, a consortium consisting of Kiewit Canada Development Corp and the Tlicho government, together with design-build partners Peter Kiewit Sons, Hatch Corporation, and Thurber Engineering.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Hatch, P&E Mining Consultants and Micon International (updated technical report on 2014 feasibility study).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Fortune Minerals, tel +1 519 858 8188, fax +1 519 858 8155 or email info@fortuneminerals.com.