Fortune Minerals discovered the Nico deposit, which now has resources of cobalt, gold, bismuth and copper, in 1996. The company now plans to build a mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories, 160 km northwest of Yellowknife, and a metals processing plant in Saskatchewan.
The project is in the permitting stage. Both the federal and Tlicho governments have approved the Nico mine and mill environmental assessment. Construction and operation will begin when the Type A water license and land use permit are issued and financing has been secured.
Pre-production capital requirements in the Northwest Territories total $346.5 million, including $52.4 million for the open pit and $170 million for the mill and related infrastructure.
No estimate has yet been made as the development costs for the underground portion of the deposit, but sustaining capital for the mine is estimated at $38.9 million.
Fortune has also received environmental approval from the province for its Saskatchewan metallurgical processing plant (SMPP). The $242.5-million hydrometallurgical facility will be located near Saskatoon.
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