A Canadian program for funding critical metals mining awarded more than $700,000 to a Fortune Metals cobalt project. Johnathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said the money will be used to enhance the production of cobalt sulphate and bismuth ingot products from the company’s planned mine in the Northwest Territories and refinery in Alberta to increase the supply of critical battery metals that are essential to the development of a domestic electric vehicle value chain. This will be achieved through a pilot-scale hydrometallurgical program designed to optimize processing conditions while ensuring that residues from the process are stable for safe disposal.
When completed, the project will also develop new expertise, create job opportunities for skilled trades and professional occupations, including Indigenous communities, and introduce a new sustainable technology to other Canadian companies. The Canadian government believes this investment will help Canada participate directly in the growing market of battery-grade cobalt and other concentrates instead of shipping concentrates overseas for value-added processing.
Funding for this project comes from the Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program. The CMRDD aims to advance the commercial readiness of emerging mineral processing unit operations and technologies that will support the development of zero-emission vehicle value chains in Canada by providing raw material inputs for use in batteries and permanent magnets.
Canada believes that creating domestic processing streams and developing expertise within Canada will support significant opportunities for Canadian workers and help the country move toward a more sustainable and prosperous low-carbon future. By making investments like this, Canada believes its responsibly sourced resources will remain competitive in the global marketplace, while also strengthening domestic value chains.
“Fortune Minerals is grateful for the financial support it is receiving from the federal government for its vertically integrated NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project through the CMRDD program,” said Robin Goad, president and CEO, Fortune Minerals. “These funds will support additional piloting needed for detailed engineering and preparation of the company’s updated feasibility study to help advance the asset closer to a construction decision.”
