Published: March 2, 2026 |

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Fortune Minerals has closed the $2.8 million (C$3.8 million) loan with Prosper NWT, a public agency of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Fortune has also completed the acquisition of the Lamont County, Alberta site and facilities that were previously held under a purchase option with JFSL Field Services.

Fortune plans to construct a hydrometallurgical facility at this site (Alberta Refinery) to process concentrates from the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The NICO Project will provide a reliable North American supply of battery grade cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots (12 percent of global reserves) and copper cement — with more than one million ounces of in-situ gold as a countercyclical and highly liquid co-product.

The Lamont County, Alberta brownfield site and facilities were purchased from JFSL for $4.4 million (C$6 million). As part of the Alberta Refinery site purchase, JFSL will have a license to continue using the Lamont County site and facilities for up to 18 months, subject to Fortune’s right to terminate this license after one year and on 60 days prior notice. JFSL will also have the right to terminate the license earlier on 60 days prior notice to Fortune. During the term of the license, JFSL will be required to maintain the facilities in their current condition and pay the utilities, security, insurance, and other operating costs while it occupies the site.

Lamont County is part of the Alberta Industrial Heartland Association (AIHA), an economic collaboration of municipalities on the north side of Edmonton with the municipal planning approvals in place for heavy industry and tax incentives keyed to capital investment.

The Alberta Refinery site consists of 76.78 acres adjacent to the Canadian National Railway with 42,000 square feet of serviced shops and facilities that will be expanded and retrofitted to construct hydrometallurgical facilities. The AIHA is an existing petrochemicals and critical minerals processing hub producing materials for industry, the energy transition, new technologies, and defense. The Alberta Refinery will leverage the existing infrastructure, process knowledge, services and reagents already in place for other AIHA industries.

The NICO Project is comprised of a planned open pit and underground mine and concentrator in the NWT and a dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta where concentrates from the mine, and other feed sources, will be processed to value-added products. Development of the vertically integrated NICO Project will strengthen North American critical mineral supply chain resilience and security, a priority for western governments that need to reduce their dependence on the current supply sources in foreign entities of concern. The NICO Project will be a reliable producer of critical mineral products in a tier 1 jurisdiction with supply chain transparency and custody control of the contained metals from ores through to the production of value-added critical mineral products.

Fortune Minerals 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 feed to extend the life of the NICO concentrator.

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