FPX Nickel Announces Appointment of Keith Patterson as Vice President of Generative Exploration for JOGMEC Joint Venture
Suite 320 – 1155 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 2P4
Tel: 604.681.8600
e-mail: [email protected]
FPX Nickel Announces Appointment of Keith Patterson as Vice
President of Generative Exploration for JOGMEC Joint Venture
Vancouver, June 19 , 202 3 – FPX Nickel Corp. (TSX-V: FPX, OTCQB: FPOCF ) (“FPX” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Keith Patterson, P.Geo., as the Company’s Vice
President of Generative Exploration . Mr. Patterson, former ly Director of Project Generation and
Greenfield Strategy with Eldorado Gold, has worked as an exploration professional for over twenty-five
years throughout North America, South America, Europe , and Asia . He will lead FPX’s newly formed
global generative exploration alliance (the “Generative Alliance”) with Japan Organization for Metals
and Security (“JOGMEC”) which aims to build on the successes of the Baptiste Nickel Project
(“Baptiste”) by identifying new large-scale awaruite nickel deposits worldwide.
“We are very excited to welcome Keith, who will play a pivotal role in leading our new joint venture with
JOGMEC,” commented Andrew Osterloh, FPX Nickel’s Vice -President, Projects. “ Keith brings to the
team a robust skillset in grassroots target delineatio n and early exploration execution on multiple
continents. Our Generative Alliance with JOGMEC represents a significant endorsement of the technical
and economic viability of awaruite nickel deposits, which we believe represent a disruptive new source of
nickel supply for the electric vehicle battery supply chain . The Generative Alliance has the potential to
expose FPX’s shareholders to numerous exploration discoveries on a global scale.”
Mr. Patterson has over twenty-five years of mining industry experience spanning a diverse range of roles.
In his previous role as Director of Project Generation with Eldorado Gold, he managed global exploration
and project generation. Prior to Eldorado Gold, Keith was Vice President of Exploration for Jinshan Gold
Mines where he was responsible for the execution of exploration programs and project evaluations in
China. Earlier in his career, Keith spent time with the Geological Survey of Canada. Mr. Patterson is a
registered Professional Geoscientist with the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and holds a
Masters of Geological Sciences and a Bachelor of Geological Engineering, both from the University of
British Columbia.
The Generative Alliance with JOGMEC will build on the successes at Baptiste to target awaruite nickel
deposits worldwide. JOGMEC will solely fund the work over the next two years, with the work over seen
by a jointly staffed Management Committee. FPX will be the initial operator of the Generative Alliance
and will earn an operator fee for pr oviding such management services. The Generative Alliance will
benefit from the extensive global database developed by FPX during the 2010 -15 period, when the
Company performed reconnaissance exploration activities for awaruite nickel targets in over a do zen
countries across four continents.
Stock Option Grants - Clarification
On May 26, 2023, the Company announced that at its Annual General and Special Meeting held on May
25, the Shareholders approved the Company’s Share Compensation Plan. This new plan (the “Omnibus
Plan”) is a “rolling” share-based compensation plan pursuant to which up to an aggregate of 10% of the
Company’s Common Shares outstanding may be reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Plan and any
other security-based compensation plans of the Company, including with respec t to the issuance of stock
options (“Options”), restricted share units ( “RSUs”) and deferred share units ( “DSUs”). The Omnibus
Plan was approved and adopted by the Board on April 26, 2023 and is subject to final acceptance by the
TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSX-V”).
The Omnibus Plan will replace the Company’s existing stock option plans (the “Former Plans”). A n
aggregate of 13,840,000 stock options previously granted under th e Former Plans will continue to be
governed by those plans until they are exercised or expire and no further stock o ptions will be granted
under the Former Plans.
On June 9, 2023, the Co mpany announced that a total of 4,005,000 Options had been gran ted to the
Company’s directors, officers and employees, exercisable at a price of $0.60 per share expiring on June 8,
2028 (n ot June 9 , as pre viously disclosed) and with a ho ld period expiring October 9, 2023 . These
Options were conditionally granted under the Omnibus Plan, pending acceptance by the TSX-V.
Today, the Company is announcing that Mr. Patterson has been granted 300,000 Options, exercisable at a
price of $0.60 per share, expiring on June 19, 2028. and with a ho ld period expiring October 20, 2023.
These Options are also conditionally granted under the Omnibus Plan, pending acceptance by the TSX-V.
Including the 13,840,0 00 options outstanding under the Forme r Pla ns, together with the 4,005,000
Options and the 300,000 Options conditionally granted under the Omnibus Plan on June 8, 202 3 and
today, respectively, there is an aggregate of 18,1 45,000 options that are currently reserved for issuance ,
representing in the aggregate 6.63% of the Common Shares outstanding.
Pursuant to the policies of the T SX-V, “rolling” share-based compensation plans such as the Omnibus
Plan must receive shareholder approval annually.
About the Decar Nickel District
The Company’s Decar Nickel District represents a large -scale greenfield discovery of nickel
mineralization in the form of a naturally occurring nickel -iron alloy called awaruite (Ni 3Fe) hosted in an
ultramafic/ophiolite complex. FPX’s mineral claims cover an area of 245 km 2 west of the Middle River
and north of Trembleur Lake, in central British Columbia. Awaruite mineralization has been identified in
several target areas within the ophioli te complex including the Baptiste Deposit and the Van Target, as
confirmed by drilling, petrographic examination, electron probe analyses and outcrop sampling. Since
2010, approximately US $28 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Decar.
Of the four targets in the Decar Nickel District, the Baptiste Deposit has been the focus of increasing
resource definition (a total of 99 holes and 33,700 m of drilling completed), as well as environmental and
engineering studies to evaluate it s pot ential as a bulk -tonnage open pit mining project. The Baptiste
Deposit is located within the Baptiste Creek watershed, on the traditional and unceded territory of
Tl’azt’en Nation and Binche Whut’en First Nation, and within several Tl’azt’enne and Binche Whut’enne
keyohs. FPX has conducted mineral exploration activities to date subject to the conditions of our
agreements with the Nations and keyoh holders.
About FPX Nickel Corp.
FPX Nickel Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of the D ecar Nickel District, located in
central British Columbia, and other occurrences of the same unique style of naturally occurring nickel -
iron alloy mineralization known as awaruite. For more information, please view the Company’s website
at www.fpxnickel.com or contact Martin Turenne, President and CEO, at (604) 681 -8600
On behalf of FPX Nickel Corp.
"Martin Turenne"
Martin Turenne, President, CEO and Director
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is considered “forward -looking
information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. These statements address future
events and conditions and so involve inherent risk s and uncertainties, as disclosed in the Company's
periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Actual results could differ from those currently
projected. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.