Aerial view of Fortune Minerals’ NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth copper project in the Northwest Territories. Credit: Fortune Minerals
Fortune Minerals (TSX: FT) reported Friday that metallurgical test work validation is complete for the bismuth circuits for the company’s 100% owned NICO critical minerals project in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Bismuth is a scarce industrial metal that has characteristics similar to lead, but is non-toxic, and the industry is currently developing uses for replacing lead. Fortune Minerals says the NICO deposit contains 12% of global bismuth reserves, as well as 1.1 million in-situ ounces of gold.
Last year, the company secured funding from both the Canadian and US governments for the project. The domestic funding, from Natural Resources Canada, amounts to C$7.5 million ($5.5 million). This is expected to cover 75% of the C$10 million in additional engineering and test work for the project.
Fortune Minerals says development of the NICO project aligns with the increasing demand for bismuth in traditional and new market applications and the historic high prices, at about $27 per pound, compounded by China’s recent export restrictions on this, and other critical minerals.
The vertically integrated NICO project consists of a planned mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories and a hydrometallurgical process facility in Lamont County, Alberta, where concentrates from the mine and other feed sources will be processed to value-added products needed in for the energy transition, new technologies and defense applications.
Development of the project will provide a reliable North American supply of cobalt sulphate, gold doré, bismuth ingots and copper cement — enhancing domestic production of three critical minerals, Fortune said.
Fortune completed the hydrometallurgical phase of its test work program for the NICO project bismuth circuit at SGS Canada in Lakefield, Ontario. The scope for this program was validation of the leaching, cementation and lixiviant regeneration unit operations, and compilation of the process design criteria for detailed engineering.
The results, according to Fortune, exceeded expectations, supporting a material reduction in the bismuth circuit size and the expected capital and operating costs at the planned Alberta hydrometallurgical facility.
Bismuth recovery in cement was approximately 98% after factoring in the ferric chloride leaching, washing and iron cementation efficiencies, compared with lower initial recovery targets. The bismuth cement produced averaged 95% bismuth, rendering it suitable for smelting and subsequent refining to high-purity metal ingots.
The process design criteria has been compiled and delivered to Worley Canada Services to engineer the facilities and incorporate them into a new feasibility study. The project’s previous feasibility study was completed in 2014.
