LONDON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF) (“Fortune” or the “Company”) (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to announce that it has successfully concluded the validation test work for an optimized hydrometallurgical flowsheet to produce battery grade cobalt sulphate heptahydrate for the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project (“NICO Project”) in Canada. The results verified that a high-quality cobalt sulphate heptahydrate product can be generated with very good metal recoveries from a simplified process flow sheet to help mitigate capital and operating costs escalation for the NICO Project. The test work was supported by contribution funding from Natural Resources Canada (“NRCan”)’s Global Partnerships Initiative (“GPI”) program, a U.S. Defense Production Act Title III award and contributions from Alberta Innovates’ Clean Resource Intake program…The NICO Project is an advanced development asset comprised of a planned open pit and underground mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories (“NWT”) and a dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta (“Alberta Refinery”) where concentrates from the mine, and other feed sources, will be processed to value-added critical mineral products. The NICO Project will provide a reliable North American supply of battery grade cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots (12% of global reserves), and copper cement - with more than one million ounces of in-situ gold as a highly liquid and countercyclical co-product…“Our new government is working with Canada’s world-class minerals industry to build resilient, secure, sustainable – and most importantly, made-in-Canada – critical mineral supply chains. This milestone from Fortune Minerals is not only an important step forward, but a perfect example of how Canada can deliver the world-class products, from batteries to magnets and beyond, that our domestic and international manufacturers and partners need. As demand grows, we are stepping up to meet that demand in a way that promotes Canada, attracts investment, and creates local jobs,” said The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has sent Washington a shortlist of state-owned assets - including manganese, copper-cobalt, gold and lithium projects - for U.S. investors to consider as part of a minerals partnership, two senior Congolese officials said…The list, delivered to United States officials last week, represents Washington's most tangible progress in converting peace and investment deals with Congo into influence over the country's critical-minerals supply chain, the sources said…The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has signed a minerals marketing partnership with state miner Gecamines and backed the $553 million Lobito Corridor upgrade…Congo's asset shortlist has gone through several rounds of internal vetting, the Congolese officials said, and represents Kinshasa's most direct offer yet to Washington for U.S. investors to evaluate…U.S. efforts to secure critical mineral supplies globally have intensified as it races to reduce reliance on China…Chinese companies active in Africa include CMOC, the world's largest exporter of cobalt, mainly from Congo, and also Zijin and Huayou that export copper from Congo…The shortlist includes Kisenge's manganese, gold and cassiterite licences, Gecamines' Mutoshi copper-cobalt project and germanium-processing venture, Sokimo's four gold permits, Cominiere's lithium licences, and Sakima's coltan, gold and wolframite assets, the two sources said.