Fortune Minerals receives draft terms of reference for NICO environmental
assessment

Issued Capital: 68,240,857

LONDON , ON, Sept. 17 /CNW/ - Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX-FT) ("Fortune Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the draft terms of reference (TOR) from the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB) for the environmental assessment (EA) for the Company's NICO Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper project in the Northwest Territories. Receipt of the draft TOR is a significant milestone in the permitting process to develop the NICO project. With the first half of the EA process nearly complete, the Company is well positioned to move efficiently through the analytical phase of the EA.

The TOR outlines the environmental, engineering and socio-economic information that Fortune Minerals will be required to address in the EA. The draft TOR is open for comment by interested parties until October 16, 2009 , after which the TOR will be finalized and Fortune Minerals will have clear direction from the MVEIRB on the information that will be required to complete the EA. Fortune Minerals has already compiled the baseline environmental and engineering data required to characterize the pre-development conditions at the NICO site and assess the impacts from its proposed development.

The NICO Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper project is located 160 km northwest of the City of Yellowknife, 50 km north of the Tlicho community of Whati, and 80 km north of the highway to Edmonton , Alberta. Fortune Minerals is permitting a combined open pit and underground mine to feed a conventional crushing, grinding and flotation mill, and related infrastructure at the NICO site to recover gold, cobalt, bismuth and copper in a bulk flotation concentrate. This concentrate will be trucked to the rail head at Hay River, Northwest Territories for delivery by rail to a refinery the Company will construct in southern Canada where it will produce gold and high purity cobalt, bismuth and copper cathodes (metals). Fortune Minerals is in negotiations with various landowners to purchase the property for this southern hydrometallurgical facility from a short list of sites in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Fortune Minerals has already purchased the Golden Giant Mine buildings and equipment at Hemlo, Ontario from Newmont Canada Limited. These assets have been dismantled and are being stored at the Hemlo site for re-location to NICO upon receipt of the requisite permits. The NICO project has been assessed in a definitive feasibility study that shows an attractive rate of return for the development and has been successfully test mined and pilot plant processed to verify the mining and process conditions and reduce project risk.

Fortune Minerals wishes to acknowledge this week's election of Joseph Rabesca as Grand Chief of the Tlicho Government, which owns the lands surrounding the NICO project pursuant to an agreement completed with the federal and Northwest Territories governments. Prior to his retirement from politics in 2005, Joe Rabesca was Grand Chief during the formative years in the development of Canada's diamond mining industry and this has been a model for aboriginal participation in mineral development and operations. Joe has stated that one of his priorities is to strengthen relationships and business opportunities with the mining industry. Fortune Minerals looks forward to working with his administration.

About Fortune Minerals

Fortune Minerals is a diversified natural resource company with several mineral deposits and a number of exploration projects, all located in Canada . They include the Mount Klappan anthracite coal deposits in British Columbia, and the NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit, the Sue-Dianne copper-silver deposit and other base and precious metals exploration projects in the Northwest Territories. Fortune Minerals owns the buildings and equipment from the Golden Giant Mine at Hemlo, Ontario, which have been dismantled for relocation to NICO. 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, or may be based upon, estimates, forecasts, and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the timing of the TOR and the EA process. 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 uncertainty in the timing and details of the TOR and other factors. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

For further information: Fortune Minerals Limited: Robin Goad, President - or - Lindsay Simmons, IR Coordinator, [email protected], Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], www.fortuneminerals.com; Renmark Financial Communications: Dan Symons: [email protected] - or - Barbara Komorowski: [email protected]; Media Contacts: François Trépanier: [email protected] - or - Vanessa Napoli: [email protected], Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], www.renmarkfinancial.com