FPX Nickel Commences Preliminary Feasibility Study on the Baptiste Nickel Project
Suite 320 – 1155 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 2P4
Tel: 604.681.8600
e-mail: [email protected]
FPX Nickel Commences Preliminary Feasibility Study on the
Baptiste Nickel Project
Vancouver, January 17, 2023 – FPX Nickel Corp. (TSX-V: FPX, OTCQB: FPOCF) (“FPX” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce the commencement of a preliminary feasibility study (“PFS”) for the
Baptiste Nickel Project (“Baptiste” or “the Project”) in central British Columbia. The PFS will mark the
culmination of the extensive de -risking and optimization program that has been underta ken since the
issuance of the 2020 preliminary economic assessment (“ 2020 PEA”). The PFS is expected to be
completed in September 2023.
Highlights
• The PFS will present a mature project basis, integrating FPX’s extensive de -risking and
optimization program undertaken since the 2020 PEA
• The PFS will present two strategic options, including:
o Base Case – production of a high-grade awaruite concentrate (50-65% Ni) for direct feed
to the stainless steel market , utilizing a simple and robust c oncentrator flowsheet that is
only possible due to Baptiste’s awaruite mineralization
o Option – further upgrading of the high-grade awaruite concentrate to produce battery-grade
nickel sulphate and cobalt -rich products for the electric vehicle battery suppl y chain ,
utilizing moderate leaching conditions and standard hydrometallurgical unit operations
• The PFS will be prepared by a team of industry-leading consultants, all of whom have meaningfully
contributed to the Project’s de-risking and optimization program since the 2020 PEA , thus
maintaining strong continuity in the ongoing development of Baptiste
“The PFS will mark the culmination of several years of robust project de-risking and optimization activities,
including resource definition drilling, engineering trade -off studies , baseline studies and pilot -scale
metallurgical test programs ,” commented Martin Turenne, the Company’s President and CEO. “Since
completion of the 2020 PEA, w e have consistently applied a major company -style mindset to project
development, and believe the PFS will confirm Baptiste as a peer-leading development-stage nickel project,
highlighting its potential for large -scale, low -cost and low -carbon nickel production spanning multiple
decades.”
The PFS will mark the culmination of an extensive de -risking and optimization program that has been
undertaken since the issuance of the 2020 PEA. With data collection and fundamental optionality largely
addressed during the post-PEA work program, FPX is confident that the PFS can be executed in an efficient
manner, and the team will be able to focus on maximizing the project’s technical and commercial maturity.
Key work elements since the 2020 PEA and their respective impact on the PFS base case are presented in
Table 1.
The PFS will present a base case of a mine and concentrator facility to produce a high -grade awaruite
concentrate (50-65% Ni) which can be directly fed to the stainless steel industry without intermediate
processing. As a strategic alternative, the PFS will present an option to further refine the high -grade
awaruite concentrate within a standalone, off-site refinery to produce both battery -grade nickel sulphate
and cobalt-rich products for the electric vehicle battery supply chain. This highly flexible approach is due
to Baptiste’s unique mineralogy and the resultant simple flowsheets for the produc tion of high -value
concentrate and sulphate products.
Table 1 – Baptiste Nickel Project: Summary of De-Risking & Optimization Program Since 2020
PEA
Work
Elements
Description Results
Geology &
Resource
Estimate
Completion of an in-fill drilling
program, targeting conversion of near-
surface, high-grade inferred resources to
the indicated category.
Drill results converted inferred resources
to indicated resources, as per Company
objective.
See FPX News Release dated March 14,
2022
Completion of an updated resource
estimate incorporating 2021’s in-fill
drilling, combined with a new geological
modelling approach and improved dike
model.
2022 mineral resource estimate achieved a
6% Davis Tube Recoverable (“DTR”) Ni
grade increase for indicated resources as
compared to 2020 mineral resource
estimate.
2022 mineral resource estimated included
first-time reporting of Total Ni, DTR Co,
and DTR Fe, providing the opportunity
for potential inclusion of secondary
products within the PFS economic basis.
See FPX News Release dated November
14, 2022
Metallurgy Phase 1 – Grindability and initial pilot-
scale testwork on both mine phase and
master composites
A mature dataset supporting PFS-level
design criteria.
See FPX News Release dated December
8, 2021
Phase 2 – Mineralogy on both mine
phase and master composites; and
flotation testwork on master composite
A mature dataset to support PFS-level
design criteria.
See FPX News Release dated July 27,
2022
Work
Elements
Description Results
Phase 3a – Larger-scale pilot testwork to
validate the PFS flowsheet
Results both validate the PFS flowsheet as
well as confirm tangible process benefits
in plant-scale processing.
See FPX News Release dated July 27,
2022 for initial results. Full results will
be released in late January 2023.
Phase 3b – Variabilty testwork on the
concentrator flowsheet and optimization
testwork on the hydrometallurgical
refinery flowsheet for production of
nickel sulphate
Testwork in progress to further support
design criteria.
Results forecast for release in April 2023.
Geotechnical Completion of phased geotechnical and
hydrogeological site investigation
programs in 2021 and 2022. Historic
open-pit geotechnical data analyzed to
provide more mature open-pit design
criteria.
Suitable site characterization information
now available for PFS design and
estimating purposes.
Engineering
Studies
Focusing on project elements having the
strongest influence on overall project
value, a series of de-risking and
optimization trade-off studies were
conducted.
Project value improved through:
• Change to SAG (semi-autogenous
grinding) mill comminution
• A phased development approach
with a smaller scale of initial
development as compared to the
2020 PEA approach
• A detailed alternatives assessment
of all available mine waste
management strategies identified
several viable alternatives, with
the lowest overall risk option to
be carried forward to the PFS
• Improved understanding of linear
facility options (road and power
corridors) and economics
• Evaluation of multiple mine
planning scenarios, improving the
metal production profile,
optimizing hauling distances and
overall footprint
See FPX News Release dated June 9,
2022
Work
Elements
Description Results
Environmental
& Cultural
Baseline
Studies
Execution of 2021 baseline readiness
reconnaisance program, following by
resumption of full environmental and
cultural baseline studies in 2022,
utilizing an Indigenous-led process
which involves signifcant contributions
from local stakeholders.
Collaborative approach with local
stakeholders has produced high quality
results on schedule.
Indigenous
Engagement
A comphrehensive Memorandum of
Agreement was signed with the Binche
Whut’en First Nation, which provides
support to FPX’s project development
activities.
See FPX News Release dated June 21,
2022
The PFS will fully incorporate de-risking and optimization results as summarized in Table 1. The PFS
will be conducted with the assistance of industry-leading service providers, and the collective team will
produce a fully integrated National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report. Key service providers
have all meaningfully contributed to previous Project works, which reduces both technical, commercial,
and schedule risks. Key service providers contributing to the PFS are presented in Table 2.
Table 2 – Key Service Providers Contributing to the PFS
Participant Scope of Responsibility First Engaged on the Project
Ausenco Engineering
Canada Ltd.
Process, infrastructure, and overall PFS
integration
Q4-2021
Knight Piésold Ltd. Tailings, water management, and
geotechnical
Q2-2021
Onsite Engineering Ltd. Site access road Q4-2021
Carisbrooke Ltd. Off-site power system Q4-2021
Next Mine Consulting Geological modelling and resource
estimation
Q4-2021
Jeff Austin Metallurgical consultant and Qualified
Person
2018
Shas-Ti (an Ecofor
Consulting and Binche
Whut’en joint venture)
Environmental and cultural baseline
studies
Q1-2022
ERM Hydrology and meteorology Q1-2021
Lorax Geochemistry Q4-2021
Sasuchan Environmental Hydrogeology Q4-2022
In addition to the technical work conducted since the PEA, the Company has also focused efforts on
understanding the current project execution environment, including both cost escalation and schedule
considerations. FPX and its consultants have reviewed recently constructed major concentrator projects
as well as regional mining projects, and learnings from both efforts will bolster PFS execution planning
and cost estimating efforts. With the resultantly mature technical and commercial basis presented in the
PFS, the Company is confident that Baptiste’s large scale, long life, favourable jurisdiction, and low-
carbon intensity will support the continued development of the Project as a preferred feed source to either
or both of the stainless steel and electric vehicle battery supply chains.
Andrew Osterloh, P.Eng., FPX Nickel’s Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved
the technical content of this news release.
About the Decar Nickel District
The Company’s Decar Nickel District claims cover 245 km 2 of the Mount Sidney Williams
ultramafic/ophiolite complex, 90 km northwest of Fort St. James in central British Columbia. The district
is a two-hour drive from Fort St. James on a high-speed logging road.
Decar hosts a greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a naturally occurring nickel-iron
alloy called awaruite (Ni3Fe), which is amenable to bulk-tonnage, open-pit mining. Awaruite mineralization
has been identified in four target areas within this ophiolite complex, being the Baptiste Deposit, and the
B, Sid and Van targets, as confirmed by drilling , petrographic examination, electron probe analyses and
outcrop sampling on all four targets. Since 2010, approximately US $28 million has been spent o n the
exploration and development of Decar.
Of the four targets in the Decar Nickel District, the Baptiste Deposit, which was initially the most accessible
and had the largest known surface footprint, has been the focus of diamond drilling since 2010, with a total
of 99 holes and 33,700 m of drilling completed. The Sid target was tested with two holes in 2010 and the
B target had a single hole drilled in 2011; all three holes intersected nickel-iron alloy mineralization over
wide intervals with DTR nickel grades comparable to the Baptiste Deposit. In 2021, the Company executed
an inaugural drilling program at Van which returned results comparable with the strongest results at
Baptiste. In 2022, the Company executed a step-out drilling program at Van which demonstrated a sizeable
expansion of the mineralized zone identified in the 2021 program.
About FPX Nickel Corp.
FPX Nickel Corp. is focused on the exploration and developme nt of the Decar 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 or
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 risks 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.