Fortune has engaged Hatch Ltd. (“Hatch”), P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (“P&E”) and Micon International Limited (“Micon”) to update the National Instrument 43-101 technical report on the NICO Project Feasibility Study prepared in 2014 based on new design developments and improvements, current capital and operating costs, commodity prices and currency exchange rates, and the economies of scale of an approximate 30% increase in the mill throughput rate. As this study nears completion, Fortune has been advancing discussions with a number of parties to participate in a complete project finance solution to fund construction of the NICO Project. The Company has entered into approximately 25 Confidentiality Agreements to date with prospective investors and has also been conducting marketing trips to meet with potential partners in North America, Asia and Europe. Discussions are continuing with automotive manufacturers, battery and trading companies, mining companies, banks, sovereign wealth funds and intermediaries. Fortune’s preferred strategy is to attract one or more asset level strategic partners to contribute equity toward a conventional debt and equity project financing. Fortune expects to enter into additional confidentiality agreements before the new technical report has been completed, at which time it expects to begin negotiations with a shortlist of companies.
As Fortune continues to evaluate its financing strategies, it has provided notice to PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance Inc. that it is terminating its engagement as financial advisor effective May 18, 2018. Due to the uniqueness of the NICO Project and the commodities that will be produced, the Company’s financing strategy relies primarily on management’s detailed knowledge of the processes, commodities and marketing. Accordingly, the Company believes that the most efficient way forward is for management to drive the financing process.
The NICO Project is a development stage primary cobalt asset consisting of a planned mine, mill and concentrator in the Northwest Territories and hydrometallurgical refinery in Saskatchewan to produce cobalt sulphate, gold, bismuth ingot and oxide, and copper cement. Development of NICO would make Fortune into a new reliable North American vertically integrated producer of “Energy” and “Eco” metals and gold and mitigate supply concerns from rising demand for cobalt in lithium-ion batteries and geographic concentration of production in the Congo and China.
The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Robin Goad, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortune, who is a “Qualified Person” under National Instrument 43-101.
