FORTUNE MINERALS ANNOUNCES MAJOR PERMITTING MILESTONE FOR THE NICO PROJECT IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

LONDON, ON, May 24, 2011 /CNW/ --
Developers Assessment Report filed with Mackenzie Valley Review Board

LONDON, ON, May 24, 2011 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT)
('Fortune Minerals' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce that it
has submitted its Developers Assessment Report ('DAR') for the
Environmental Assessment ('EA') for its NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper
project in the Northwest Territories ('NT'). The DAR was filed last
week with the Mackenzie Valley Review Board ('MVRB') and represents a
significant milestone in the permitting process for the Company's
proposed mine, mill and related facilities. The DAR culminates many
years of comprehensive environmental, socio-economic and engineering
work that has determined that the NICO project is economically viable
and that impacts to the local biophysical environment will be minimal.

'We are very proud of the development, operation and closure plan
prepared for the DAR by our in-house team of professionals together
with experts retained from outside engineering and environmental
consultants', said Fortune Minerals President, Robin Goad. 'NICO is a
unique project that will provide long-term benefits to the Tlicho
people and other nearby residents, and contribute significantly to the
economy of the NT'.

The NICO project is located 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife
and 50 km north of the Tlicho community of Whati. The 31 million tonne
deposit will be developed using a combination of open pit and
underground mining methods with ores processed at the rate of 4,650
tonnes per day in a concentrator at the site over an 18-year mine life.
Other facilities that are planned at the site include a camp to
accommodate employees working on a rotation basis, ancillary buildings
and a 27 km all-season access road that will join the site to the
proposed Tlicho Road connecting nearby communities with the highway to
Yellowknife. The mill will produce approximately 180 tonnes of bulk
concentrate per day for shipment south to the Company's proposed
hydrometallurgical refinery near Saskatoon and further processing to
high value metal products. An EA is also underway in Saskatchewan to
permit the refinery. Fortune Minerals plans to be a significant,
reliable North American-based supplier of 99.8% cobalt cathode, 99.5%
bismuth cathode and 99.99% bismuth ingot, gold doré, and by-product
production of copper cathode and nickel precipitate.

Fortune Minerals has been collecting baseline environmental data on
water quality, fish and wildlife populations, hydrology, hydrogeology,
geochemistry, vegetation, soils and terrain, heritage resources, air
quality, noise, socio-economics and traditional knowledge in the region
of the NICO project since 1998. The Company has also had a long history
of engagement with the Tlicho and other First Nations as well as
government agencies. Collectively this information, together with
engineering data, was used to prepare Land Use Permit and Water License
applications that were submitted to the MVRB in November 2008. The
project was referred to EA on March 2, 2009.

The DAR represents more than two years of effort by Fortune Minerals and
it's consultants in delivering a comprehensive 3000 page document that
will meet the needs of all stakeholders in the EA process. Scoping
sessions were held in nearby communities to receive comments and
concerns brought forward by the Tlicho people, other NT residents, and
government regulators. Three primary areas of focus were identified for
the DAR with respect to potential impacts to water quality, caribou and
closure.

Since filing its applications, Fortune Minerals has worked diligently to
refine the project design in order to minimize or eliminate
environmental impacts during construction, operation and closure of the
mine. Wherever possible, concerns of the Tlicho people documented in
community engagement sessions were incorporated into the project
design. Key improvements to the project since the 2008 design presented
in the applications include:

    --  Elimination of the mine rock management area in favour of a
        co-disposal facility ('CDF') where mine rock and tailings will
        be stored together. This significantly reduces the footprint of
        the project and its visual impacts, and also allows for more
        efficient management of water to mitigate water quality
        impacts;

    --  The water management system has been optimized in terms of
        internal recycling within the plant, thickening of the
        tailings, and incorporating a high level of reclaim water from
        the CDF back to the concentrator. This new design has resulted
        in water withdrawal that is only about one tenth the volume
        initially predicted in the Class A Water License Application,
        and in significantly reduced effluent discharge volumes;

    --  The process plant at the mine site will now produce a
        concentrate for shipment to the proposed hydrometallurgical
        refinery near Saskatoon. The metal refining part of the project
        was relocated from the mine site to Saskatoon to reduce capital
        and operating costs for the project, mitigate exposure to
        increasing energy costs, accelerate the construction schedule,
        and reduce environmental impacts. This relocation will result
        in a considerable reduction in the quantity of process
        chemicals that would otherwise have been shipped to and used at
        the mine site and was supported by the Tlicho Government.

Fortune Minerals is confident that changes to the biophysical
environment from the NICO development will not result in significant
adverse residual impacts to valued components of aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems, such as water quality, fish and fish habitat,
traditional use plants, caribou, and other wildlife. Consequently, the
NICO project is not predicted to have significant adverse impacts on
the traditional and non-traditional use of these ecological components.

The DAR has concluded that NICO will have significant positive impacts
on the economics of the NT and surrounding Tlicho communities,
including direct and indirect employment, contracting opportunities for
local businesses, and tax revenue. NICO will provide local and regional
direct employment during construction of 231 jobs, up to 233 full-time
jobs during early years of operations when the underground and open pit
parts of the mine are both in operation, and 127 jobs during open pit
operations. In-direct jobs are expected double these amounts. During
its 18-year operating mine life, the NICO project will contribute
approximately $128 million per year to the Gross Domestic Product
('GDP') of the NT and will contribute $24 million per year in revenues
to the federal and territorial governments. Total GDP for the entire
operational phase of the project will amount to approximately $2.3
billion. Fortune Minerals also expects to enter into a Participation
Agreement with the Tlicho Government.

Rick Schryer, Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs for
Fortune, stated that 'Fortune is confident it has met the requirements
of the Terms of Reference ('TOR') and we look forward to working with
the Tlicho people, other stakeholders, regulatory agencies and the MVRB
during the DAR review process to move this project to the final phase
of mine permitting.' Once the MVRB has completed its conformity check
and confirms the DAR meets the requirements of the TOR, Fortune will
proceed through the DAR review process according to the definitive
steps and timelines established in the DAR work plan issued by MVRB.
According to the work plan, the remainder of the environmental
assessment process includes review of the DAR by interested parties,
information requests to Fortune Minerals, technical sessions, a
pre-hearing conference and a public hearing. The information gathered
during this process will be used by MVRB to prepare its report on the
project and make a recommendation to the Minister of Indian and
Northern Affairs. Fortune would then go back to the Wek'eezhii Land and
Water Board to obtain the necessary Water License and Land Use permits
to construct and operate the mine.

The DAR and its supporting documentation are available on the MVRB
public registry web site (http://www.reviewboard.ca/registry/project.php?project_id=72).

About Fortune Minerals:

Fortune Minerals 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 its NICO
gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit in the Northwest Territories and its
metals processing plant in Saskatchewan. Fortune Minerals owns the
buildings and equipment from the Golden Giant Mine at Hemlo, Ontario,
which have been dismantled, moved, and stored for relocation to NICO.
Fortune Minerals also owns the Mount Klappan anthracite metallurgical
coal deposits in British Columbia and has engaged Deloitte & Touche
Corporate Finance Canada to assist in attracting a strategic partner to
develop this project. In addition, the Company owns the Sue-Dianne
copper-silver deposit and other exploration projects in the Northwest
Territories. Fortune Minerals is focused on outstanding performance and
growth of shareholder value through assembly and development of high
quality mineral resource projects.

This press release contains forward-looking information. This
forward-looking information includes statements with respect to, among
other things, the proposed development of the NICO project and the
proposed purchase and development of the site for the Saskatchewan
Metals Processing Plant ('SMPP'). 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 arrange the
necessary financing to construct and operate the NICO mine and the
SMPP, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of required
permits for the development of the NICO project and the SMPP, the
possibility of delays in the commencement of production from the NICO
project and construction of the SMPP 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.

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