# Fortune Minerals Completes Cobalt Sulphate Test Work Canonical Atlas analysis: https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397 Original source: https://money.tmx.com/en/quote/FTMDF/news/7987781224274140/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work Publisher: tmx Original announcement: 2026-01-21T13:00:00.000Z Analysis by Minestarters Atlas Atlas analysis published: Unknown date Atlas analysis updated: Unknown date - Company: Fortune Minerals Limited - Ticker: FTMDF - Exchange: TSX - Region: Northwest Territories - Primary commodity: Cobalt - Secondary commodities: Copper, Gold, Bismuth - Document categories: Metallurgy - Extracted: 2026-09-17 22:57:27 UTC Narrative sentiment: 0.80 · Bullish ## Minestarters Atlas summary Fortune Minerals has successfully validated an optimized hydrometallurgical flowsheet for its NICO Project, producing battery-grade cobalt sulphate heptahydrate. The recent test work achieved improved cobalt \(97%\) and copper \(74%\) recoveries compared to 2008 pilot plant results. Reasoning: The test work successfully validated an optimized flowsheet with improved cobalt and copper recoveries over historical pilot plant results, meeting strict battery-grade specifications. - Positive factor: Improved metal recoveries compared to 2008 pilot plant - Positive factor: Successful validation of optimized hydrometallurgical flowsheet - Positive factor: High-purity cobalt sulphate product meets battery grade specifications - Positive factor: Potential for reduced CAPEX/OPEX via simplified flowsheet Facts used in scoring: 6 ## Classification and evidence **High Recovery** Polarity: positive Definition: Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route. Why it applies: Cobalt recovery of 97% and gold recovery of 97-98% are exceptional for the described hydrometallurgical process. Evidence · text > achieved extractions of 97% for cobalt and 74% for copper at the design feed grade **Mill Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Processing via mill or concentrator \(CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation\). Why it applies: The process involves an optimized hydrometallurgical flowsheet including autoclave processing. Evidence · text > optimized hydrometallurgical flowsheet to produce battery grade cobalt sulphate heptahydrate **POX/BIOX Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Pressure or bio-oxidation for refractory ore — high CAPEX and OPEX. Why it applies: the document describes a pox\_biox route \("pressure oxidation"\) **Multi-Domain Tested** Polarity: positive Definition: Variability across ore domains \(oxide, transition, fresh\) has been addressed. Why it applies: 3 distinct composites were tested ## Extracted facts Stored fact records: 6. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record. ## Metallurgical Results (6) ### autoclave [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397#fact-metallurgical-facts-0) NICO Project · cobalt #### Identity - Project: NICO Project - Commodity: cobalt - Region: northwest territories - Reported Region: Northwest Territories - Ticker: FTMDF #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: autoclave - Sample: design feed grade concentrate #### Recovery - Recovery: 97 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: High recovery achieved at design feed grade. - Positive factor: Improvement over 2008 pilot plant \(95%\) Evidence · text > achieved extractions of 97% for cobalt and 74% for copper at the design feed grade #### 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 ### autoclave [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397#fact-metallurgical-facts-1) NICO Project · copper #### Identity - Project: NICO Project - Commodity: copper - Region: northwest territories - Reported Region: Northwest Territories - Ticker: FTMDF #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: autoclave - Sample: design feed grade concentrate #### Recovery - Recovery: 74 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Improved copper recovery at design feed grade. - Positive factor: Improvement over 2008 pilot plant \(70%\) Evidence · text > achieved extractions of 97% for cobalt and 74% for copper at the design feed grade #### Tags used in scoring **Low Recovery** Polarity: negative Definition: Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route. Why it applies: 74% is below the weak band \(80%\) **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 ### autoclave [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397#fact-metallurgical-facts-2) NICO Project · cobalt #### Identity - Project: NICO Project - Commodity: cobalt - Region: northwest territories - Reported Region: Northwest Territories - Ticker: FTMDF #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: autoclave - Sample: off-specification low-grade cobalt feed #### Recovery - Recovery: 95 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Recovery on low-grade feed matches historical pilot plant performance. - Positive factor: Confirms earlier pilot plant metal recoveries Evidence · text > Extractions using an off-specification low-grade cobalt feed were 95% for cobalt and 79% for copper #### 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 ### autoclave [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397#fact-metallurgical-facts-3) NICO Project · copper #### Identity - Project: NICO Project - Commodity: copper - Region: northwest territories - Reported Region: Northwest Territories - Ticker: FTMDF #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: autoclave - Sample: off-specification low-grade cobalt feed #### Recovery - Recovery: 79 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Recovery on low-grade feed matches historical pilot plant performance. - Positive factor: Confirms earlier pilot plant metal recoveries Evidence · text > Extractions using an off-specification low-grade cobalt feed were 95% for cobalt and 79% for copper #### Tags used in scoring **Low Recovery** Polarity: negative Definition: Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route. Why it applies: 79% is below the weak band \(80%\) **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 ### autoclave [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397#fact-metallurgical-facts-4) NICO Project · gold #### Identity - Project: NICO Project - Commodity: gold - Region: northwest territories - Reported Region: Northwest Territories - Ticker: FTMDF #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: autoclave - Sample: blended cobalt concentrate with bismuth leach residues #### Recovery - Recovery: 97.5 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Excellent gold recovery achieved through blending strategy. - Positive factor: High gold recovery \(97-98%\) - Positive factor: Successful capture of gold in single process stream Evidence · text > Gold recoveries in the recent tests were between 97% and 98% #### Tags used in scoring **High Recovery** Polarity: positive Definition: Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route. Why it applies: 97.5% is at or above the exceptional band \(95%\) **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 ### autoclave [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/fortune-minerals-completes-cobalt-sulphate-test-work--ef978640-6f7a-4dde-8ca2-8700a240a397#fact-metallurgical-facts-5) NICO Project · cobalt #### Identity - Project: NICO Project - Commodity: cobalt - Region: northwest territories - Reported Region: Northwest Territories - Ticker: FTMDF #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: autoclave - Sample: blended cobalt concentrate with bismuth leach residues #### Recovery - Recovery: 97.5 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Process optimization captures additional cobalt previously lost to bismuth circuit. - Positive factor: Recovers additional cobalt from bismuth circuit Evidence · text > recovering additional cobalt and copper that had deported to the bismuth circuit #### 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.