Saskatoon Construction

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$150-million refinery to be built near Langham


By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenixNovember 3, 2009 11:46 AM



The Saskatoon region has been chosen as the preferred site of a $150-million hydrometallurgical processing facility, the company behind the plan announced Tuesday.

Fortune Minerals Ltd. says it has entered into an agreement to purchase lands near Langham on which it proposes to construct the refinery, which will process ore from its NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories. The Ontario-based company said the refinery site includes access to the main line of the Canadian National Railway and is close to the Trans Canada Highway, along with power, natural gas and water supply.

“With a diversified economy, a highly-skilled workforce and respected post-secondary institutions, Saskatoon can accommodate everything that is required to construct and operate this refinery,” stated Robin Goad, president of Fortune Minerals.

The facility will process about 80,000 tonnes of product from NICO each year and employ 85 people in specialty jobs over a 15- to 20-year period.

The company said it had been working with the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) for several months to identify the location for the refinery in Saskatchewan.

Ken Cheveldayoff, minister of Enterprise Saskatchewan, said the province is happy Saskatoon was chosen as the site for the state-of-the-art processing plant.

“We are very pleased that Fortune Minerals has chosen Saskatchewan over other potential locations for this new and exciting project that means jobs and investment in the Saskatoon area,” he said.

Edmonton and Winnipeg were also considered.

NICO is not yet in production, but is expected to become a significant global producer of cobalt and the world’s largest independent producer of bismuth.

Langham is located roughly 34 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.