LONDON, ON, Nov. 4 /CNW/ -- Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT) ("Fortune Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update of the front-end engineering and design ("FEED") that is being conducted for the Company's NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper development, which is presently in the environmental assessment process for mine permitting. NICO is a planned vertically integrated project to mine and concentrate ores from the Company's deposit in the Northwest Territories, located 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife and 50 km north of the community of Whati. Bulk concentrates produced at the mine will be transported by truck and rail to a refinery the Company proposes to construct in Saskatchewan for processing to high value metal products. Fortune Minerals has an agreement to purchase the site for this Southern Hydrometallurgical Facility ("SHMF"), subject to certain conditions and completion of satisfactory due-diligence the Company is now conducting. Fortune Minerals is pleased to report that process, design and mine engineering are progressing well and improvements being recognized that will positively impact project economics. Updated capital and operating costs for the project from FEED are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2010.

Mineral Reserves:

The Mineral Reserves for the NICO deposit were estimated for the Company's definitive feasibility study and economic update (see Fortune Minerals News Releases, dated, January 16, 2007 and May 8, 2008) and total 21.8 million tonnes. They are comprised of Proven and Probable Underground Mineral Reserves of 1.2 million tonnes, averaging 5.1 grams of gold per tonne, 0.14% cobalt and 0.19% bismuth, plus Proven and Probable Open Pit Mineral Reserves of 20.6 million tonnes, averaging 0.85 grams of gold per tonne, 0.13% cobalt and 0.16% bismuth.

New reserve estimates are being prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. ("P&E"), based on updated, higher commodity prices from those used in the Company's definitive feasibility study and update. The new reserves will also incorporate the planned operational improvements for the project that have been developed over the past year, which include: a new more efficient mine plan, a higher 4,650 tonne per day production rate, and the higher metal recoveries and the production of additional metal cathode products that were proved in the Company's pilot plant (see Fortune Minerals News Release, dated February 24, 2009). By-product copper cathode is now also planned to be produced from NICO and consequently, copper will be included in the new reserve estimates in preparation. Fortune Minerals expects to release the new reserve estimates later this year.

The NICO Mineral Reserve Estimates were prepared by Micon International Limited and P&E with Mr. Terrence Hennessey, P.Geo. and Mr. Eugene Puritch P.Eng. as the Qualified Persons in accordance with NI 43-101. For detailed information about the NICO Mineral Reserve Estimates, please see the Company's disclosures on the Sedar website at www.sedar.com.

Mine Planning:

P&E is working with Fortune's engineers on an improved mine plan for the NICO deposit. The previous and new updated mine plans are based on a combined open pit and underground operation in the first two years, and then transitioning to only open pit mining for the remainder of the mine life. This is the result of cash flow scheduling that determined that early access to the gold-rich, higher-grade ores in the underground part of the mine improves project economics. Fortune's engineers and P&E, with geotechnical advice from Golder Associates Limited ("Golder"), have eliminated backfilling during underground operations, reducing underground mining costs.