Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc. and Fortune Minerals Limited announce preliminary results from a laboratory scale metallurgical test program utilizing DST's arsenic treatment approach, on mineralized samples from Fortune's Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth- copper project (NICO) located in Canada's Northwest Territories. The goal of this testing program is to identify the set of conditions for the successful removal and stabilization of arsenic, at a laboratory scale, from the NICO bulk concentrate using a pyrolysis approach in a fluidized bed roaster and DST's arsenic vitrification technology. DST successfully removed 99% of the arsenic content and demonstrated that the NICO bulk concentrate material can undergo a pre-treatment to remove arsenic and create a mineral concentrate with levels of arsenic that are acceptable to the market and traditional metal recovery circuits.

Using's DST thermal decomposition in an oxygen deprived environment approach, the arsenic content was reduced by 99% to below <0.2% arsenic with no cobalt, gold, bismuth and copper losses. Most smelters are limited to about 0.5% arsenic in their feed, results here indicate a product significantly below that at 0.2%, therefore opening up many smelters as potential destination for this concentrate. Metal grades in the arsenic depleted concentrate increased by 20 to 30% due to mass loss from the selective removal of the arsenic via pyrolysis.

The arsenic removed from the NICO concentrate during the test program was successfully stabilized using DST's patented vitrification approach. A glass product containing over 10% arsenic successfully met the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxicity Characterization Leaching Procedure (TCLP, Method 1311). DST continues the commercialization of its cyanide-free gold extraction and arsenic stabilization technologies.

DST also provides its technical expertise and facilities to companies wishing to further evaluate the development of their projects using the Corporation laboratory, piloting and/or industrial demonstration facilities on specific projects in need of viable processing capacities, and to initiate engineering studies required for industrial implementations.