TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Saskatchewan Environment Minister on Tuesday gave the nod of approval for TSX-listed project developer Fortune Minerals to build a $200-million metals processing plant 27 km north-west of Saskatoon.

Minister Ken Cheveldayoff had accepted the Environmental Assessment Branch's recommendation and approved the London, Ontario-based company's proposed Saskatchewan metals processing plant (SMPP), subject to adhering to strict environmental rules.

"The proposal was assessed to be both environmentally and technically sound, providing both environmental safeguards and outlining company plans to ensure Saskatchewan's air, water, and natural resources are protected throughout the duration of the project and after,” the Saskatchewan government stated.

The SMPP is a hydrometallurgical refinery planned near Langham, dedicated to processing metal concentrates from the NICO gold/cobalt/bismuth/copper mine and mill, in the Northwest Territories.

The SMPP is expected to produce 40 500 oz/y of gold contained in doré; 1 600 t of cobalt, contained in cobalt sulphate heptahydrate, which is used in high-performance rechargeable batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles; other cobalt products as dictated by market conditions; 1 700 t/y of bismuth, a non-toxic, environmentally safe replacement for lead with a broad range of industrial and commercial uses, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, electronics and low-temperature alloys; and 250 t of copper contained in a metal precipitate.

The plant is expected to bring 200 jobs during construction, create about 100 long-term direct jobs for the region, and produce new business opportunities to support the facility.

Following the approval, Fortune is now completing the process of resoning its land with the Rural Municipality of Corman Park. The company is also continuing its dialogue with nearby communities to explain the opportunities of the refinery and exchange information about the project with residents.

Among the environmental standards the company’s project would have to operate are the need to establish an independent community-based monitoring programme, submitting of an annual monitoring report to Saskatchewan Environment, providing effective dust control for all components of the project, and submitting a detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of the process residue that will be stored at the site.

With the introduction of metals refining to the Saskatoon area, Fortune had proposed to create an independent community-monitoring programme to give residents in the area confidence that the new facility is meeting or exceeding all environmental standards. The company had committed to fund this independent body, which would have the freedom to hire its own expert consultants to review the company's monitoring plans before and during commercial operations.

Appropriate consultants would report to the committee and make recommendations to the Environmental Protection Branch and Fortune.

Some Saskatoon residents formed a group that opposed the project, saying it poses a risk to their water supply and the environment in general. The Saskatchewan Environmental Society had also recommended that the province do not approve the project in an attempt to protect the character of the Langham agricultural community. The group said it is scared that the proposed waste storage system would affect the quality and availability of local drinking water.

"We recognise that Fortune and metals processing are new in this region and that people who live in the area need to know that their land, air and water supply will not be adversely affected.

“By providing funding to set up an independent committee, we hope to establish that our company and our operations can be trusted to deliver the levels of safety and environmental responsibility that we have promised,” Fortune VP for operations and COO Mike Romaniuk said.

The SMPP’s approval sent Fortune’s TSX-listed stock up 17.81% on Tuesday to C$0.43 apiece.