HALIFAX, NS , Nov. 20, 2024 /CNW/ - Fortune Bay Corp. (TSXV: FOR) (FWB: 5QN) (OTCQB: FTBYF) ("Fortune Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce commencement of work to further advance its 100% owned Goldfields Gold Project ("Goldfields" or the "Project"), located in northern Saskatchewan. A Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") completed by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., in October 2022 (summarized below), has clearly demonstrated robust economics for Goldfields.
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Fortune Bay has engaged with Fuse Advisors Inc. ("Fuse") to define a project development roadmap (the "Study") to advance the Project toward the next stage of engineering and design. The Study's objective is to define the optimal path to production by evaluating permitting scenarios and various mine design, flowsheet and throughput cases, building upon the 2022 PEA and the approved 2008 Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") that remains valid today.
The Study will also leverage off the Project's substantial repository of historical technical data from a 2011 Prefeasibility Study and a 2008 Feasibility Study for the Box Deposit, and the environmental baseline data set acquired for the 2008 EIS. As part of the Study, a plan and budget will be developed for advancing the Project into development. The Study is expected to take approximately two months to complete.
Dale Verran, CEO for Fortune Bay, commented "We are excited to be advancing Goldfields, which has the merits for a near-term, highly profitable gold mine located in Canada's top-ranked mining jurisdiction. The Project produced robust PEA economics at considerably lower gold prices than we have today and is well positioned for rapid advancement given the foundation of existing technical and environmental data from previous work. This study represents an important step in defining the optimal path to production prior to commencing additional permitting activities and further de-risking through pre-feasibility or feasibility study. We are pleased to be working with Fuse at this stage of the Project, a boutique firm that specializes in such integrated studies, with direct experience in Saskatchewan and a record of successfully advancing Canadian gold projects."
Goldfields Project highlights include:
Robust economics from a PEA completed by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. in October 2022, including:
After-tax NPV5%US$459M, IRR 50.5%, 1.3 year payback (at US$1,950/oz gold)
101,000 oz/year average annual gold production
Low initial capital costs of C$234M
Competitive all-in sustaining ("AISC") cost of US$889/oz
De-risked mineral resources with upside:
Current open-pit mineral resource estimate of 979,900 oz Indicated (23.2 Mt at 1.31 g/t) and 210,800 oz Inferred (7.1 Mt at 0.92 g/t gold)
PEA utilized 99% Indicated resources, no additional delineation drilling required for conversion to mineral reserves
Accurate mineral resource estimate reconciliation with historical production from a small underground mine
Significant resource expansion and exploration potential
Conventional mining & processing:
Open-pit mining (3:1 waste/ore) with simple mineralogy and standard free-milling flowsheet (95.3% recovery)
Established infrastructurein a historical mining area, including a road and powerline to site
Well-advanced permitting with an approved Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") from 2008 for an open-pit mine at the Box deposit and a 5,000 tpd mill
Strong foundation of community engagement including an Exploration Agreement with First Nation Communities and Local Municipalities, which provides consent up to and including Feasibility Study and provision for negotiation of an Impact Benefit Agreement ("IBA") for the mining stage
Technical Disclosure
The PEA, effective date October 31, 2022, was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., in collaboration with Moose Mountain Technical Services for the mine design, and SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. for the updated Mineral Resource Estimate and Environmental, Permitting and Social aspects. The PEA NI-43-101 Technical Report is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and Fortune Bay's website. A summary of the 2022 PEA can be found in the Company's news release dated November 1, 2022.
Qualified Person
The technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gareth Garlick, P.Geo., Technical Director of the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Garlick is an employee of Fortune Bay and is not independent of the Company under NI 43-101.
About Fuse Advisors
Fuse Advisors is a boutique consultancy firm, focused on providing value services to the resource sector in Project Management, Technical Services and Advisory. Fuse Advisors develops fit-for-purpose solutions by taking a client-first approach, leveraging our team's experience across the project lifecycle to identify and close gaps present between the silos of Exploration, Engineering, Permitting, Construction and Operations.
About Fortune Bay
Fortune Bay Corp. (TSXV:FOR, FWB:5QN, OTCQB:FTBYF) is an exploration and development company with 100% ownership in two advanced gold projects in Canada, Saskatchewan (Goldfields Project) and Mexico, Chiapas (Ixhuatán Project), both with exploration and development potential. The Company is also advancing seven uranium exploration projects on the northern rim of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, which have high-grade potential. The Company has a goal of building a mid-tier exploration and development Company through the advancement of its existing projects and the strategic acquisition of new projects to create a pipeline of growth opportunities. The Company's corporate strategy is driven by a Board and Management team with a proven track record of discovery, project development and value creation. Further information on Fortune Bay and its assets can be found on the Company's website at www.fortunebaycorp.com or by contacting us as info@fortunebaycorp.com or by telephone at 902-334-1919.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Words such as "expects", "aims", "anticipates", "targets", "goals", "projects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "continues", "may", variations of such words, and similar expressions and references to future periods, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the results of the PEA, including future Project opportunities, future operating and capital costs, closure costs, AISC, the projected NPV, IRR, timelines, permit timelines, and the ability to obtain the requisite permits, economics and associated returns of the Project, the technical viability of the Project, the market and future price of and demand for gold, the environmental impact of the Project, and the ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including the local levels of government. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward- looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. For more information on Fortune Bay, readers should refer to Fortune Bay's website at www.fortunebaycorp.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
