Fortune Minerals Receives Water Licence and Land Use Permit for the Nico Project Access Road
Press Release
LONDON, ONTARIO, Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF) (“Fortune” or “the Company”) (www.fortuneminerals.com) announces Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Board (“WLWB”) approval for the Type A Land Use Permit and Type B Water Licence needed to construct and operate the NICO Project Access Road (“NPAR”). The NPAR will connect Fortune’s planned NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine and concentrator (“NICO Mine”) in the Northwest Territories (“NWT”) to the territorial highway system where it currently terminates at the community of Whati, 50 km south of the mine. The NPAR is needed for mine construction and operations and for trucking metal concentrates to Enterprise, NWT for transfer to rail and delivery to the Company’s planned hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta for processing (collectively, “the NICO Project”). Fortune and the Tłı̨chǫ Government are forming a joint venture to pursue funding opportunities to construct the NPAR, which could be extended to Gameti in the future to improve community access and delivery of services, reduce the cost of living, and promote economic opportunities in the central part of Tłı̨chǫ territory (see news release, dated April 29, 2026).
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Fortune is pleased to report that it also recently successfully concluded its Public Hearings for renewal of the NICO Mine Land Use Permit and Water license on April 21 and 22 in Whati. The Company has responded to Undertakings and Information Requests generated from the hearings and will review the draft Water Licence expected to be received later this week. Closing arguments are due June 22nd and June 29th for reviewers and Fortune, respectively, followed by the WLWB making its recommendation to the NWT Minister of Industry Tourism and Investment in July or August for approval. In the interim, Fortune is applying for a 60-day extension to the current Water License due to expire on July 22.
Fortune has also completed the baseline environmental studies for its property in Lamont County, Alberta where it plans to construct the hydrometallurgical facility for processing NICO Mine concentrates. Geotechnical, soils, wetland, and wildlife surveys were completed and permitting will advance when Fortune receives additional engineering for the site needed to provide emissions and stack location data for a regional air quality model for its Environmental Impact Assessment exemption application and operations permits. Environmental considerations are being incorporated into the design of the facility demonstrating that the Company can mitigate potential impacts and reduce permitting delays.
Fortune’s NICO Project is an advanced development asset comprised of a planned open pit and underground mine and concentrator in the NWT and dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland north of Edmonton, an existing petrochemical and critical minerals processing hub. Development of the NICO Project would provide a North American vertically integrated supply of battery-grade cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots and oxide, and copper cement for the energy transition new technologies and defence with more than one million ounces of in-situ gold as a highly liquid and countercyclical co-product.
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 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 and mineral processing 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 feed to extend the life of the NICO concentrator.
For further information please contact:
Fortune Minerals Limited
Troy Nazarewicz
Investor Relations Manager
info@fortuneminerals.com
Tel: (519) 858-8188
www.fortuneminerals.com
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