26 March 2019
Fortune Minerals Limited reports that the Rural Municipality of Corman Park has rejected the Company's application to change the zoning of its lands near the town of Langham, Saskatchewan from "Agriculture" to "M2 Rural Industrial". The rezoning is required to construct and operate a hydrometallurgical facility to process metal concentrates from the Company's planned NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper mine in the Northwest Territories to cobalt battery materials, gold, and bismuth for the growing green economy.
Fortune owns 478 acres in Corman Park through a wholly-owned subsidiary. These lands were identified in consultation with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Economy and the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority who encouraged the Company to locate the refinery in Saskatchewan. Fortune received environmental assessment approval from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment in 2014, which concluded that, "The proposal was assessed to be both environmentally and technically sound, providing both environmental safeguards and outlining company plans to ensure Saskatchewan's air, water, and natural resources are protected throughout the duration of the project and after." The Saskatchewan Government continues to support the project.
Fortune is considering its options with respect to its lands in Corman Park. Over the past several months, the Company has also been working on alternate plans in the event of a negative zoning change decision. These include identification of other sites in Saskatchewan and other jurisdictions to build the facility in a supportive municipality that wants to attract economic opportunities and participate in the production of energy metals and their potential spinoff businesses. Fortune is also evaluating a lower cost start-up option of selling metal concentrates and gold doré directly from the proposed mine to defer construction of a refinery.