Construction of all-season road to Whati to
begin this year for
anticipated completion in 2022
LONDON, ON, Feb. 14, 2019 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals
Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQX: FTMDF) ("Fortune" or
the "Company") (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to
report that the Government of the Northwest Territories ("GNWT") has
announced that it has signed the agreement with North Star
Infrastructure GP ("North
Star") to construct the Tlicho All-Season Road
("Tlicho Road") to the community of Whati, Northwest Territories. Whati is located 50
kilometres south of Fortune's proposed NICO
Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper mine ("NICO Project"). As part of
its proposed development, Fortune plans to construct a spur road to
connect with the Tlicho Road in order to enable concentrates
produced from the mine to be transported south for processing to
value added products. These include cobalt chemicals needed to
manufacture lithium-ion rechargeable batteries to power electric
vehicles, portable electronic devices and stationary cells to make
electricity use more efficient.
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The Tlicho Road will be a permanent 97-kilometre, 2 lane gravel
highway, extending north from Highway 3 to Whati at a construction
cost of $213.8 million. The
Government of Canada is providing up to 25% of these costs
through the P3 Canada Fund. The GNWT is funding the remaining 75%,
using a Private Public Partnership ("P3") structure with
North Star, a consortium
consisting of Kiewit Canada Development Corp. and the Tlicho
Government, together with Design-Build partners Peter Kiewit Sons
ULC, Hatch Corporation, and Thurber Engineering Ltd. North Star will design, finance, construct,
operate and maintain the Tlicho Road for a total contract value of
$411.8 million over a 28-year period.
The Tlicho Government has invested approximately $16 million to purchase a 20% equity interest in
North Star.
About Fortune Minerals
Fortune is a Canadian mining company focused on developing the
NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper project in the Northwest Territories. The Company owns lands
in Saskatchewan where it plans to
construct a refinery to process NICO concentrates to value-added
products. Fortune also owns the Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold
deposit located 25 km north of the NICO Project, which is a
potential future source of incremental mill feed to extend the life
of the NICO Project mill.
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This press release contains forward-looking information and
forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable
securities legislation. This forward-looking information includes
statements with respect to, among other things, the construction of
the Tlicho Road and the Company's plans to develop the NICO
Project. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and
estimates of management as well as certain assumptions at the date
the information is given (including, in respect of the
forward-looking information contained in this press release,
assumptions regarding: the Company's ability to arrange the
necessary financing to continue operations and develop the NICO
Project; the construction of the Tlicho Road and the timing of its
completion; the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and
the timing thereof; the rezoning of the Company's Saskatchewan refinery lands to allow for the
construction of a refinery to process NICO concentrate, if needed,
and the timing thereof; growth in the demand for cobalt; the time
required to construct the NICO Project; and the economic
environment in which the Company will operate in the future,
including the price of gold, cobalt and other by-product metals,
anticipated costs and the volumes of metals to be produced at the
NICO Project). However, such forward-looking information is subject
to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that
could cause actual events or results to differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking information. These factors
include the risks that the Company may not be able to finance and
develop NICO on favourable terms or at all, uncertainties with
respect to the receipt or timing of required permits, approvals and
agreements for the development of the Nico Project, the Tlicho Road
may not be constructed in a timely fashion or at all, the
construction of the NICO Project may take longer than anticipated,
the Company may not be able to secure offtake agreements for the
metals to be produced at the NICO Project, the inherent risks
involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties
and in the mining industry in general, the market for rechargeable
batteries and the use of stationary storage cells may not grow to
the extent anticipated, the future supply of cobalt may not be as
limited as anticipated, the risk of decreases in the market prices
of cobalt and other metals to be produced by the NICO Project,
discrepancies between actual and estimated mineral resources or
between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries,
uncertainties associated with estimating mineral resources and the
risk that even if such resources prove accurate the risk that such
resources may not be converted into mineral reserves, once economic
conditions are applied, the Company's production of cobalt and
other metals may be less than anticipated and other operational and
development risks, market risks and regulatory risks. Readers are
cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking
information because it is possible that predictions, forecasts,
projections and other forms of forward-looking information will not
be achieved by the Company. The forward-looking information
contained herein is made as of the date hereof and the Company
assumes no responsibility to update or revise it to reflect new
events or circumstances, except as required by law.
SOURCE Fortune Minerals Limited