Bismuth prices have tripled in recent weeks, gold prices are at an all-time high, and the Congo has placed a moratorium on the export of cobalt to support higher prices
LONDON, Ontario, February 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF) ("Fortune" or the "Company") (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to comment on the recent commodity price activity for the metals contained in its vertically integrated NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper critical minerals project ("NICO Project") in Canada. The NICO Project is a development stage asset comprised of a planned open pit and underground mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories ("NWT") and a dedicated hydrometallurgical recovery plant in Lamont County, Alberta ("Hydrometallurgical Facility"). The Hydrometallurgical Facility will process concentrates from the mine, and other feed sources, to produce value-added metals and chemicals for the energy transition, new technologies and defense. Development of the NICO Project would provide a reliable North American supply of cobalt sulphate, gold doré, bismuth ingots, and copper cement enhancing domestic supply chains for three critical minerals and a highly liquid and countercyclical gold co-product to mitigate metal price volatility.
The Mineral Reserves for the NICO Deposit are 33.1 million metric tonnes containing 1.1 million ounces of gold, 82.3 million pounds of cobalt, 102.1 million pounds of bismuth (12% of global reserves) and 27.2 million pounds of copper to support a 20-year planned mine life. The Company also owns the Sue-Dianne satellite copper deposit, located 25 km north of the NICO Deposit.
Gold price approaching US$3,000 per ounce Recent geopolitical issues and trade disputes are inflationary, resulting in higher demand for safe haven assets like gold. Gold has been trading at historic all-time high prices of more than US$2,900 per ounce, providing a highly liquid co-product to help insulate project economics from critical mineral price volatility.
Bismuth price up more than 300% to a 17-year high The projected revenues from the NICO Project have historically been primarily from cobalt and gold but NICO is also the largest deposit of bismuth in the world with 12% of global reserves. The bismuth price has more than tripled over the past few weeks and is currently trading at prices of more than US$20 per pound. Bismuth is identified on the Canadian and U.S. Government Critical Minerals Lists having unique physical and chemical properties used in important industrial, environmental and defense applications but with supply chains that are vulnerable to disruption. China controls approximately 90% of refined bismuth supply, which threatens national security from geographic concentration of production and policy risks. Notably, Bismuth is one of five critical minerals that China recently imposed export restrictions on due to ongoing trade disputes with the U.S. China’s bismuth exports to the U.S. are assessed with a 25% tariff.
Bismuth is consumed in the automotive industry for glass and steel coatings, paint and brake pads. It is also used to make low melting temperature and dimensionally stable alloys, fire depressant systems, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Bismuth consumption is increasing as an environmentally safe and non-toxic replacement for lead in brass, solder, free machining steel and aluminum, glass, radiation shielding, ceramic glazes and ammunition. Bismuth-tin alloy is used to make environmentally safe plugs to properly seal and decommission oil and gas wells. Bismuth is also used to make manganese-bismuth magnets, semi-conductors, coolants and components used in some nuclear reactor designs, rocket propellants, and alloys used to align jet engine and power turbine blades.
Cobalt export moratorium in the Democratic Republic of Congo On February 22, 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC") announced that it is suspending cobalt exports for four months to rein in oversupply on the international market. The government is also preparing other measures to help balance the market and encourage domestic processing. The DRC produces about three-quarters of the world’s cobalt mine supply, approximately 60% of which is controlled by Chinese State-Owned Enterprises ("SOE’s"), which also control 80% of global refined cobalt and 90% of cobalt chemical supply. Overproduction and predatory pricing have pushed cobalt to all-time inflation adjusted low prices near US$10 per pound, down from US$40 per pound in 2022, and causing some western producers to suspend operations. Western governments have therefore been calling for price control actions such as floor or two-tier pricing structures, tariffs, and/or bans on government purchases of cobalt products from foreign entities of concern. The DRC measures are expected to support higher cobalt prices and help restore economic fundamentals to the market.
Cobalt is primarily used to make lithium-ion batteries to store energy for electric-vehicles, portable electronics and stationary storage cells. Cobalt is also used in superalloys for the aerospace industry, cutting tools, cemented carbides, magnets, catalysts and pigments.
NICO Project NICO is a polymetallic IOCG-type deposit with four payable metals, reducing exposure to the price of any individual metal and help insulate the project from price manipulation. As a vertically integrated development, the NICO Project is also not beholden to third-party owned downstream process plants. Development of the NICO Project would provide a vertically integrated domestic supply of three critical minerals with supply chain transparency and custody control over the contained metals from ores through to the production of value-added products and help mitigate security of supply issues from foreign entities of concern.
PDAC 2025 Fortune is participating at the 2025 annual Prospectors and Developers Association Convention ("PDAC") being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre between March 2 and March 5, 2025. Please visit the Company’s booth #2837 in the Investor Exchange to meet with management and discuss the Company’s progress and outlook.
President and CEO, Robin Goad, will present the NICO Project at the Canada Investment Forum hosted by Natural Resources Canada, Invest in Canada, and Global Affairs Canada on Monday March 3rd. Mr. Goad is also participating in a panel discussion hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce for their "Critical Minerals to Market: Strengthening North American Critical Minerals Supply Chains" in an off-site closed-door session.
For more detailed information about the NICO Mineral Reserves and certain technical information in this news release, please refer to the Technical Report on the NICO Project, entitled "Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for the NICO-Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper Project, Northwest Territories, Canada", dated April 2, 2014 and prepared by Micon International Limited which has been filed on SEDAR and is available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.
The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release have been approved by Robin Goad, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortune and Alex Mezei, M.Sc., P.Eng. Fortune’s Chief Metallurgist, who are "Qualified Persons" under National Instrument 43-101.
About Fortune Minerals
Fortune is a Canadian mining company focused on developing the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories and Alberta. Fortune also owns the satellite Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit located 25 km north of the NICO deposit and is a potential future source of incremental mill feed to extend the life of the NICO concentrator.
This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. This forward-looking information includes statements with respect to, among other things, the exercise of the option by the Company and the purchase of the JFSL site in order to construct the proposed Hydrometallurgical Facility at the JFSL site, the potential for expansion of the NICO Deposit and the Company’s plans to develop the NICO Project. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management as well as certain assumptions at the date the information is given (including, in respect of the forward-looking information contained in this press release, assumptions regarding: the successful completion of the Company’s due diligence investigations on the JFSL site, the Company’s ability to secure the necessary financing to fund the exercise of the option and complete the purchase of the JFSL site, the Company’s ability to complete construction of a NICO Project Hydrometallurgical Facility; the Company’s ability to arrange the necessary financing to continue operations and develop the NICO Project; the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals for the construction and operation of the NICO Project and the related Hydrometallurgical Facility and the timing thereof; growth in the demand for cobalt; the time required to construct the NICO Project; and the economic environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of gold, cobalt, bismuth, and other by-products, anticipated costs and the volumes of metals to be produced at the NICO Project). However, such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. These factors include the risks that the Company may not be able to complete the purchase of the JFSL site and secure a site for the construction of a Hydrometallurgical Facility, the Company may not be able to finance and develop NICO on favourable terms or at all, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of required permits, approvals and agreements for the development of the NICO Project, including the related Hydrometallurgical Facility, the construction of the NICO Project may take longer than anticipated, the Company may not be able to secure offtake agreements for the metals to be produced at the NICO Project, the Sue-Dianne Property may not be developed to the point where it can provide mill feed to the NICO Project, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties and in the mining industry in general, the market for products that use cobalt or bismuth may not grow to the extent anticipated, the future supply of cobalt and bismuth may not be as limited as anticipated, the risk of decreases in the market prices of cobalt, bismuth and other metals to be produced by the NICO Project, discrepancies between actual and estimated Mineral Resources or between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries, uncertainties associated with estimating Mineral Resources and Reserves and the risk that even if such Mineral Resources prove accurate the risk that such Mineral Resources may not be converted into Mineral Reserves once economic conditions are applied, the Company’s production of cobalt, bismuth and other metals may be less than anticipated and other operational and development risks, market risks and regulatory risks. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information because it is possible that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forms of forward-looking information will not be achieved by the Company. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
