www.fortuneminerals.com
Fortune Minerals is a diversified natural resource company with several mineral deposits and a number of exploration projects, all located in Canada. They include the Mount Klappan anthracite coal deposits in British Columbia, and the NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit, the Sue-Dianne copper-silver deposit and other base and precious metals exploration projects in the Northwest Territories.
Fortune Minerals reports positive results from mini-pilot plant test at Nico
Fortune Minerals (TSE:FT) reported Thursday positive results from a mini-pilot plant test performed on ore from its Nico gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories.
The property rests 160 kilometres northwest of the city of Yellowknife in the southern part of the Northwest Territories.
The latest test, which was conducted in 2011, further optimizes the Nico process metallurgy flow sheet by verifying the bismuth process residue can be blended with cobalt concentrate prior to acid pressure leach in the autoclave.
Fortune noted that this kyboshes one of two gold circuits at its proposed Saskatchewan metals process plant near Saskatoon to reduce project capital, and also results in improved recoveries for both gold and cobalt from what the company projected previously.
Notable highlights from the mini-pilot test included an increase in the average life of mine gold recovery to 76 percent from 73 percent, with cobalt recovery of 84 percent, up from 83 percent.
The test also resulted in a simplified process flow sheet with only one cyanide circuit for gold recovery, and project capital and operating costs for gold processing were reduced.
The company also said the new higher recoveries for gold and cobalt are being incorporated into the front end engineering design study for the Nico project and its updated economic model.
Fortune Minerals, which is London, Ontario-based, said approximately six tonnes of ore collected from the underground test mining program at Nico in 2006 and 2007 were processed at SGS Lakefield in the mini-pilot plant test.
The test simulated most of the Nico process flow sheet, except that after recovery of bismuth from the bismuth concentrate, the bismuth leach residue was blended with the cobalt concentrate for processing in the autoclave by pressure acid leach.
The combined feed to the autoclave recovers cobalt and copper from the cobalt concentrate, and also recovers the minor amounts of cobalt and copper contained in the bismuth leach residue.
The combined leach residue from the autoclave is then leached with cyanide to recover gold from both the cobalt and bismuth process streams, instead of using duplicate cyanide circuits.
Autoclave processing results in higher gold recoveries and has the added benefit of mitigating potential gold recovery losses from gold-bismuth-tellurium alloys that can be refractory, the company said.
Fortune is a diversified resource company with several mineral deposits and a number of exploration projects, all located in Canada.
It is focused on the development of the Mount Klappan anthracite metallurgical coal deposits in British Columbia and the Nico gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit in the Northwest Territories.
Shares of Fortune rose one cent, or 1.22 percent, climbing to 83 cents per share Thursday late afternoon on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
