Fortune Minerals has completed validation test work for an optimised hydrometallurgical process designed to produce battery-grade cobalt sulphate heptahydrate from the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in Canada. The company reported that the test programme confirmed the ability to produce a high-quality cobalt sulphate product while achieving improved metal recoveries through a simplified process flowsheet designed to reduce potential capital and operating cost escalation.
Integrated mine and processing development
The NICO Project is structured as an integrated critical minerals development combining a planned mine and concentrator in the Northwest Territories with a dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta. The project’s development model relies on processing concentrate into higher-value products, including battery-grade cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots and copper cement. The metallurgical process is a key component of the project’s technical framework and planned supply chain structure.
Metallurgical testing improves recovery results
Fortune Minerals reported that recent testing achieved 97% cobalt extraction and 74% copper extraction at the design feed grade. The results compare with earlier 2008 pilot plant testing, which recorded 95% cobalt extraction and 70% copper extraction. Recent gold recovery results ranged between 97% and 98%, compared with 95% during previous pilot work. The NICO Project also contains more than one million ounces of in-situ gold, which forms part of the project’s mineral inventory as a co-product alongside cobalt, bismuth and copper.
Processing pathway remains central to project development
The completed test work provides additional technical data for advancing the project’s feasibility updates, financing discussions and permitting activities. The NICO development depends on the successful integration of mining, concentrate processing and hydrometallurgical operations to produce refined critical mineral products. Further project advancement will require continued work on the processing facility, technical studies and development approvals.
