Fortune Minerals Updates NICO Refinery Site Due-Diligence

Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF) (“Fortune” or the “Company”) (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to report that due-diligence activities are advancing on the Company’s proposed new refinery site location in Lamont County in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland northeast of Edmonton (see Fortune news release dated January 24, 2022). Fortune entered into an option agreement with JFSL Field Services ULC (“JFSL”) in January to allow it to purchase the site and existing facilities of this former steel fabrication plant in order to construct the hydrometallurgical refinery for the planned NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine in the Northwest Territories. The refinery would process metal concentrates from the mine to produce Critical Mineral products including cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots and oxide, and a copper precipitate needed for the transition to new technologies. The NICO Mineral Reserves also contain more than 1.1 million ounces of in-situ gold providing a highly liquid and countercyclical co-product to mitigate Critical Mineral price volatility. The vertically integrated NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project (“NICO Project”) is one of the few advanced cobalt development assets in the world outside of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support the near-term demand growth in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles (“EV’s’), portable electronics and stationary storage cells.

Fortune has retained several engineering and environmental consultants to determine the suitability of the JFSL site and facilities to accommodate the planned NICO Project refinery and provide a regulatory roadmap to secure the remaining permits. The JFSL site is comprised of 76.78 acres of lands adjacent to the Canadian National Railway and has more than 40,000 square feet of serviced shops and buildings that Fortune believes will materially reduce capital costs for the planned development. Subject to arranging the applicable financing required to exercise the option, the results of this work will provide the information needed to make an informed decision on whether to complete the C$5.5 million purchase prior to the July 24^th, 2022 expiry of the option.