# Fortune Announces Successful Tests to Produce Upgraded and Clean Cobalt Concentrate From the Nico Project Canonical Atlas analysis: https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-announces-successful-tests-to-produce-upgraded-and-clean-cobalt-concentr--006e60f9-bdbe-425b-86a8-676da6f3baab Original source: https://money.tmx.com/en/quote/FTMDF/news/4943376291963266/fortune-announces-successful-tests-to-produce-upgraded-and-clean-cobalt-concentr Publisher: tmx Original announcement: 2018-09-17T11:12:00.000Z Analysis by Minestarters Atlas Atlas analysis published: Unknown date Atlas analysis updated: Unknown date - 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 Narrative sentiment: 0.70 · Bullish ## Minestarters Atlas 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 factor: Successful arsenic removal \(99%\) - Positive factor: Concentrate grade improvement \(20-30%\) - Positive factor: Proven technology \(DST\) for arsenic stabilization - Positive factor: Potential for lower CAPEX/OPEX via concentrate sale vs refinery - Negative factor: Lower revenue potential compared to vertically integrated refinery - Negative factor: Greater dependence on third-party processors Facts used in scoring: 4 ## Classification and evidence **Free Milling** Polarity: positive Definition: 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 Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: 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 Signed** Polarity: positive Story-specific tag Definition: 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 Only** Polarity: negative Definition: 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 1 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-announces-successful-tests-to-produce-upgraded-and-clean-cobalt-concentr--006e60f9-bdbe-425b-86a8-676da6f3baab#fact-metallurgical-facts-0) NICO Project · arsenic #### 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 factor: 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 Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver. Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit ### Fact 2 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-announces-successful-tests-to-produce-upgraded-and-clean-cobalt-concentr--006e60f9-bdbe-425b-86a8-676da6f3baab#fact-metallurgical-facts-1) NICO Project · cobalt #### 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 factor: 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 Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver. Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit ### Fact 3 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-announces-successful-tests-to-produce-upgraded-and-clean-cobalt-concentr--006e60f9-bdbe-425b-86a8-676da6f3baab#fact-metallurgical-facts-2) NICO Project · gold #### 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 factor: 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 Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver. Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit ### Fact 4 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-announces-successful-tests-to-produce-upgraded-and-clean-cobalt-concentr--006e60f9-bdbe-425b-86a8-676da6f3baab#fact-metallurgical-facts-3) NICO Project · bismuth #### 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 factor: 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 Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: 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.