NICO project is expected to process ore at a throughput capacity of 1.7 million tons per year, over its mine life
Fortune Minerals secured a matching grant from the Northwest Territories Government. (Credit: Pexels from Pixabay)
Fortune Minerals is planning to resume work on the NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project located 160km northwest of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.
The move comes on the heels of lifting of travel restrictions, which were imposed by the Northwest Territories Government due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Being developed with an estimated investment of $445.6m, the NICO project is expected to process ore at a throughput capacity of 1.7 million tons per year (Mtpa), during its estimated operational life of 20 years.
Fortune Minerals secures matching grant of $144,000
In support of the project development, Fortune Minerals secured a matching grant of $144,000 through the Mining Incentive Program from the Northwest Territories Government.
The funds will be used by the firm to undertake geophysical surveys at the NICO Project site this summer, on identified gold targets.
In a press statement, Fortune Minerals said: “The objective of the geophysical work is to identify concentrations of conductive sulphides within the broader magnetic anomaly beneath this overburden that may represent the east strike extension of the NICO Deposit.”
As per estimates, the mine contains 1.1 million ounces (Moz) of gold, 82 million pounds (Mlbs) of cobalt, 102Mlbs of bismuth, and 27Mlbs of copper.
Fortune president and CEO Robin Goad said: “With more than a million ounces of in-situ gold, the NICO Deposit is a unique Critical Mineral project, particularly among other planned cobalt developments needed to supply energy metals for the transformation to electric vehicles.”
Last year, Fortune Minerals signed an option to purchase an alternative site to construct the proposed hydrometallurgical refinery to process metal concentrates from the NICO mine.