Fortune Minerals (TSX: FT; US-OTC: FTMDF) shares soared on Tuesday after the Canadian miner announced government funding of up to $887,170 to help advance its longstanding NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories.
The stock closed the day up 1¢ or 28.6%, at 5¢ apiece, giving the junior a market capitalization of $18.9 million.
The advanced-stage critical minerals asset, discovered by Fortune in 1996, is to be developed as an open pit and underground mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories, along with a hydrometallurgical refinery in Alberta.
The proposed Alberta refinery would process concentrates from the future mine at the NICO project and other sources to produce cobalt sulphate, gold doré, bismuth ingots and copper.
Up to $714,500 of the funds provided under the federal government’s Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program, will be used on Fortune’s planned cobalt sulphate process pilot and other metallurgical test work. The Alberta government has also conditionally approved funding contributions of up to $172,670 toward the budgeted program costs.
The program will also provide samples of concentrate that could be used in future tests with material sourced under the previously announced collaboration with mining giant Rio Tinto.
According to Fortune, the development of the NICO project would provide a vertically integrated Canadian supply for three critical minerals needed for the energy transition (cobalt, bismuth and copper) with North American supply chain transparency, as well as compliance with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
A now-outdated feasibility study was released for the project in 2014 outlined a $600-million capital cost.
NICO contains proven and probable reserves totalling 33.1 million tonnes grading 1.03 grams gold per tonne, 0.11% cobalt, 0.14% bismuth and 0.04% copper.
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