TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed project promoter Fortune Minerals has appointed former minister of the Northwest Territories government (GNWT) David Ramsay to the company's board.
Ramsay brought with him more than 20 years of elected public office experience in the Northwest Territories, which included prominent Cabinet positions in the Legislative Assembly.
Before November 2015, he was Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, which included the mining portfolio and accounted for about half of private-sector gross domestic product in the jurisdiction.
Ramsay had also served as Minister of Justice, Attorney General, Minister of Transportation and the Minister Responsible for the Public Utilities Board for the GNWT.
According to Fortune, Ramsay brought important political skills and business acumen to the board while Fortune worked with three levels of government on road and power infrastructure initiatives that were critical to the success of the company's Nico gold/cobalt/bismuth/copper project.
"As the Minister responsible for mining in the previous Legislative Assembly, I have followed the progress of this vertically integrated project with interest and recognise its importance to sustain mining as a pillar of the Northwest Territories economy,” Ramsay stated.
“Having a reliable Canadian solution to the impending supply deficit for cobalt will be critical to global electronics companies that need cobalt to make lithium-ion batteries used to power portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and stationary storage cells. It is gratifying to be part of a solution to air-quality concerns and climate change by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels with the growth of the automotive industry electrification,” he advised.