Fortune Minerals announces closing of the first tranche of the Procon Resources strategic investment

/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES/

Second tranche expected to close on August 20, 2013

Issued Capital:  135,901,976

LONDON, ON, July 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQX: FTMDF) ("Fortune" or the "Company") (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to report that it has closed the first tranche of the private placement related to the previously announced strategic investment by Procon Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Procon Holdings (Alberta) Inc., collectively ("Procon").  A total of 14,625,000 new common shares were issued at a price of $0.40 per common share for proceeds of $5,850,000. The second tranche of the private placement is now expected to close on August 20, 2013. For more information regarding the private placement, please see the news release of the Company dated June 27, 2013.

Fortune and Procon are working together to advance the NICO Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper Project ("NICO" or the "Project") in the Northwest Territories ("NT"), Canada towards the objective of commencing construction activities in 2014, including completing project financing arrangements, detailed engineering, and a project execution plan. Fortune will use the proceeds of the private placement financing to advance the Project and for working capital.

Pursuant to the private placement agreement with Procon, Mr. Ed Yurkowski has joined the board of directors of Fortune. Mr. Yurkowski is the Chief Executive Officer of Procon, which in addition to the resource company is a full service mining contractor through Procon Mining & Tunneling Inc. Mr. Yurkowski has been involved in the mining and civil contracting industries since 1966, including ownership and management of two large mining construction contracting companies. He is a founder of Procon and remains a principal shareholder following the purchase in 2012 of a majority interest in the corporation by China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. Mr. Yurkowski guides the corporate governance of Procon and directly oversees its business development functions and the overall strategic direction and operation of the corporation. Mr. Yurkowski received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1971 from the University of Saskatchewan and currently serves as a director of a number of other TSX and TSXV listed companies, including Imperial Metals Corporation, Chieftain Metals Corp., Golden Band Resources Inc., Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp. and Columbia Yukon Explorations Inc.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the united Sates unless an exemption from such registration is available.

About NICO

NICO is positioned to become a reliable Canadian-based producer of gold, cobalt and bismuth.  Mining will be conducted primarily by open pit methods with underground ores also contributing mill feed during the first two years from the existing underground workings that were established from previous test mining. The ores will be processed in a concentrator at the site, using simple flotation to produce a bulk concentrate for shipment to a refinery and additional processing to high value metal products. The deposit contains Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves totalling 33 million tonnes containing 1,085,000 ounces of gold, 82 million pounds of cobalt, 102 million pounds of bismuth (representing 15% of global bismuth reserves), and 27 million pounds of copper (see Fortune News Releases dated July 2, 2012 and July 4, 2012). At the planned mill throughput rate of 4,650 tonnes of ore per day, the mineral reserves will sustain operations for 19.8 years. More than $110 million of work has already been invested in the NICO project including completion of Front-End Engineering and Design and feasibility studies, underground test mining, and pilot plant tests to verify the process methods.  NICO is located 50 km north of the Tlicho community of Whati and 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife

The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been approved by Robin Goad, M.Sc., P. Geo., President and CEO of the Company, who is a "qualified person" under National Instrument 43-101.

About Procon

Procon is a full service mining contractor providing a comprehensive range of expertise to meet the growing needs of the mining and civil industries.  It provides services in underground and open pit mining, mill construction and rehabilitation, heavy equipment rental and maintenance, and industrial services for infrastructure for the mining, forestry, and construction industries.  The corporation has one of the largest owned fleets of mining equipment and has ranked as one of the leading mining contractors in North America and one of the top thirty general contractors in Canada.  Well respected in the mining industry, Procon also has an impressive performance record in both safety and operations.

Procon is majority owned by CAMCE. CAMCE's core business is international EPC services, contracting, trading, and domestic and overseas project investment. With extensive experience in international project management, CAMCE has completed large turnkey projects in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean in the fields of transportation, municipal engineering, irrigation and water works, power development, construction materials, food processing, textiles, petrochemicals, agricultural and construction equipment and telecommunications.

About Fortune Minerals:

Fortune is a diversified resource company with several mineral deposits and a number of exploration projects, all located in Canada. The Company is focused on the development of the Arctos Anthracite Project in British Columbia and the vertically integrated NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project that is comprised of a mine and mill in the NT that will produce a bulk concentrate for shipment to a refinery for processing to high value metal products. In addition, the Company owns the Sue-Dianne copper-silver-gold deposit and other exploration projects in the NT. Fortune is focused on outstanding performance and growth of shareholder value through assembly and development of high quality mineral resource projects.

This news release contains forward-looking information. This forward-looking information includes statements with respect to, among other things, the financing from Procon referred to herein (the "Financing), the expected timing of the closing of the second tranche of the Financing, proposed production of gold and specialty metals, and the proposed development of the NICO project. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is given, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information.  These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the inherent volatility of metal prices, the risk that the Company may not be able to complete the Financing or arrange the necessary additional financing to construct and operate the NICO mine, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of required permits for the development of the NICO project, the possibility of delays in the commencement of production from the NICO project and other factors. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information because it is possible that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forms of forward-looking information will not be achieved by the Company.  The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

 

SOURCE: Fortune Minerals Limited

Fortune Minerals Limited
Robin Goad, President, or
Troy Nazarewicz
Investor Relations Manager
[email protected]
Tel.: [phone]
www.fortuneminerals.com

Renmark Financial Communications
Barbara Komorowski: [email protected], or
John Boidman: [email protected]
Montreal Tel: [phone], Toronto Tel. [phone]
www.renmarkfinancial.com