29 April 2026
LONDON, ONTARIO, Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF) (“Fortune” or the “Company”) (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to announce that it has recently submitted applications to two government agencies with programs supporting domestic critical minerals development and supply chain diversification. Fortune and the T???ch? Government are forming a joint venture for the development of an access road to the Company’s NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories (“NWT”), and have applied to the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund ("CMIF") for up to $50 million of support to construct this spur road. Fortune has also responded to a U.S. Department of War (“DoW”) Defense Industrial Base Consortium (“DIBC”) Request for Project Proposals to address a gap in domestic bismuth production. NICO is the largest deposit of bismuth in the world with approximately 12% of global reserves and the Company’s planned hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta will produce 99.99% pure bismuth ingot and oxide products. The hydrometallurgical facility will also produce cobalt and copper critical mineral products as well as gold as a countercyclical co-product. If the government program applications are successful, there is good potential to materially reduce the capital requirements for the planned vertically integrated NICO development.
The NICO deposit in the NWT is within T???ch? territory, approximately 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife and 50 km north of the community of Whatì where the territorial highway system currently terminates. Fortune and the T???ch? Government are forming a joint venture to pursue CMIF funding to construct the spur road to the Company’s planned mine and concentrator. Fortune and the T???ch? Government will also evaluate the road's potential to provide an incremental extension of the all-season road toward the community of Gamètì, improving access, delivery of services and promoting future economic development in the central part of T???ch? lands. The joint venture is a good example of government-to-government and industrial collaboration for the development of important legacy mine infrastructure for community benefit.
The DoW’s recent Request for Project Proposals prioritizes thirteen critical minerals for financial support to expand domestic processing capabilities, notably including bismuth, of which China currently controls approximately 90% of refined production and is restricting exports to western countries. The objective of this new DoW program is to incentivize the development of robust, resilient and secure domestic supply chains for the identified critical minerals that are essential for national security and defense. The DoW is seeking project proposals from DIBC members that address critical gaps in domestic production capacity and processing for which Fortune is well positioned with respect to bismuth. Fortune has already secured U.S. Government support to advance the NICO Project to a construction decision through a Defense Production Act (“DPA”) Title III award (see May 16, 2024 news release). The support from the U.S. Government was also partially matched with contribution funding from the Government of Canada through other Natural Resources Canada (“NRCan”) programs.