VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Multicommodity project developer Fortune Minerals this week announced the appointment and promotion of several staff members in preparation for construction of its C$589-million Nico cobalt/gold/bismuth/copper project, in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NT).
The London, Ontario-based junior on Wednesday said it had appointed mining industry veteran Glen Koropchuk technical director and COO to lead development of Nico.
Most recently employed as the COO of De Beers Canada, he brings with him 27 years of employment within the Anglo American group of companies, where he gained experience in Canada’s North, which is critical to the success of Fortune’s vertically integrated Nico development, comprising a mine, mill and concentrator in the NT and a related refinery near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Fortune also announced several staff changes in support of its development goals, including Sherry Tunks rejoining the company in the position of supply chain manager. Tunks has 15 years of supply chain experience within the mining, automotive supply and manufacturing industries.
Dr Richard Schryer has been promoted to the position of VP of regulatory and environmental affairs. Schryer is an aquatic scientist with more than 30 years of experience in environmental studies, monitoring, Aboriginal engagement, environmental assessments (EAs) and permitting, including successfully completing the Nico mine and refinery EAs and receipt of the major mine permits. Schryer continues to supervise environmental, Aboriginal and regulatory permitting issues for Fortune.
Further, Patricia Penney has been promoted to the position of controller from her previous position as financial and accounting manager since 2013. Penney is responsible for the company's accounting, financial reporting and other functions, reporting to Fortune's VP of finance and CFO Dave Massola.
Nico is one of the world's few near-term primary cobalt assets positioned to meet the growing demand for cobalt in lithium-ion batteries needed for automotive electrification and stationary storage of power from the electrical grid. The Nico mineral reserves also contain 1.11-million ounces of gold and 12% of global bismuth reserves.
Fortune, in January, appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance to help secure the working capital required to build its Nico project, and negotiations with financiers are ongoing.