Fortune Announces Successful Tests to Produce Upgraded and Clean Cobalt Concentrate From the Nico Project
Original announcement by tmx on
- Company
- Fortune Minerals Limited
- Ticker
- FT
- Exchange
- TSX
- Region
- Northwest Territories
- Primary commodity
- Cobalt
- Secondary commodities
- Gold, Bismuth, Copper, Arsenic
- Document categories
- Metallurgy, Permitting
- Extracted
- 2026-09-17 23:12:56 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Fortune Minerals announced successful metallurgical test work by Dundee Sustainable Technologies (DST) to produce upgraded, arsenic-free cobalt concentrates from the NICO Project. The process successfully removed 99% of arsenic, increasing metal grades by 20-30% through mass reduction, and offers a potentially lower-CAPEX development route compared to a full refinery.
Reasoning: The metallurgical test work successfully demonstrated a way to upgrade cobalt concentrates by removing arsenic, which significantly de-risks the project's ability to sell to third-party markets and offers a lower-cost development path.
Positive factors
- Successful arsenic removal (99%)
- Concentrate grade improvement (20-30%)
- Proven technology (DST) for arsenic stabilization
- Potential for lower CAPEX/OPEX via concentrate sale vs refinery
Negative factors
- Lower revenue potential compared to vertically integrated refinery
- Greater dependence on third-party processors
Facts used in scoring: 4
Classification and evidence
Free Millingpositive
Simple, clean ore amenable to standard processing without oxidation.
Why it applies: The release mentions gold can be successfully recovered by cyanidation of the bulk concentrate, implying simple metallurgy for that component.
Evidence · text
“Gold can be successfully recovered by cyanidation of the bulk concentrate”
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The technology involves roasting metal concentrates and potentially adding a gold recovery circuit to the mill.
Evidence · text
“A small gold recovery circuit may now be required in the mill”
QP/CP Signedpositive · Story-specific tag
Qualified Person (QP) or Competent Person (CP) named and signed off — a member of a recognized professional association (e.g., AusIMM, SME, AIG, P.Geo) with relevant experience.
Why it applies: Robin Goad, M.Sc., P.Geo., is named as the Qualified Person.
Evidence · text
“approved by Robin Goad , M.Sc., P.Geo., President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortune, who is a "Qualified Person"”
Single Domain Onlynegative
Testing limited to one composite or domain — representativeness not established.
Why it applies: only one composite was tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 4. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (4)
Fact 1NICO Project · arsenicRecovery: 99 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- NICO Project
- Commodity
- arsenic
- Region
- northwest territories
- Reported Region
- Northwest Territories
- Ticker
- FT
Test Work
- Sample
- NICO bulk concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery
- 99 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Lab
- Laboratory
- Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: 99% arsenic removal is a critical technical milestone for concentrate saleability.
Positive factors
- High removal efficiency
Evidence · text
“Successful removal of 99% of the arsenic in NICO bulk concentrate to lower than 0.2%”
Tags used in scoring
Byproduct Commodityneutral
The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver.
Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit
Fact 2NICO Project · cobaltView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- NICO Project
- Commodity
- cobalt
- Region
- northwest territories
- Reported Region
- Northwest Territories
- Ticker
- FT
Test Work
- Sample
- NICO bulk concentrate
Lab
- Laboratory
- Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Mass reduction through selective removal of impurities directly improves concentrate grade.
Positive factors
- Grade improvement via mass reduction
Evidence · text
“Metal grades in the concentrate increased by 20-30% due to mass reduction”
Tags used in scoring
Byproduct Commodityneutral
The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver.
Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit
Fact 3NICO Project · goldView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- NICO Project
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- northwest territories
- Reported Region
- Northwest Territories
- Ticker
- FT
Test Work
- Sample
- NICO bulk concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Lab
- Laboratory
- Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Demonstrates that the pyrolysis process does not compromise gold recovery.
Positive factors
- High recovery potential via cyanidation
Evidence · text
“No cobalt, gold, or copper losses from pyrolysis. Gold can be successfully recovered by cyanidation”
Tags used in scoring
Byproduct Commodityneutral
The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver.
Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit
Fact 4NICO Project · bismuthView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- NICO Project
- Commodity
- bismuth
- Region
- northwest territories
- Reported Region
- Northwest Territories
- Ticker
- FT
Test Work
- Sample
- NICO bulk concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Lab
- Laboratory
- Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Demonstrates flexibility in bismuth recovery methods.
Positive factors
- New recovery option demonstrated
Evidence · text
“Recovery of bismuth oxide by pyrolysis has now also been demonstrated as an option”
Tags used in scoring
Byproduct Commodityneutral
The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver.
Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.