FPX Nickel Metallurgical Testing Demonstrates Significant Improvements in Recovery and Grade, Consistently Producing High-Grade Nickel and By-product Iron Ore Concentrates
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FPX Nickel Metallurgical Testing Demonstrates Significant
Improvements in Recovery and Grade, Consistently Producing
High-Grade Nickel and By-product Iron Ore Concentrates
Vancouver, February 25, 2019 – FPX Nickel Corp. (FPX-TSX.V) (“FPX Nickel” or the “Company”)
is pleased to announce positive results from metallurgical testing on the Baptiste Deposit at its 100%-
owned Decar Nickel District (the “Project”) in central British Columbia. The metallurgical testing
achieved meaningful improvements over the results of previous metallurgical test work used as a basis for
the Project’s 2013 preliminary economic assessment (“2013 PEA”), demonstrating significant increases
in estimated nickel recovery and final concentrate quality, using conventional processing technologies.
Highlights
● Conventional flowsheet based on grinding, magnetic separation and flotation processes
● Consistent production of nickel (“Ni”) concentrates with improvements in grade and recovery,
versus 2013 PEA projections, as shown in Table 1 below
● Consistent production of iron ore concentrates grading up to 64% iron (“Fe”) content, the first
successful generation of a potentially commercial by-product in the Project’s testing history
A comparison of the results of the 2019 metallurgical test program with the assumptions in the 2013 PEA
is provided in Table 1.
Table 1 – Summary of Metallurgical Improvements
Metallurgical Parameter Metallurgical
Assumptions in
2013 PEA
Results of 2019
Metallurgical Test
Program
Nickel Concentrate Grade 13.5% Ni 55-72% Ni
Davis Tube Recoverable (“DTR”) Nickel Recovery 82% 80-90%
Iron Ore Concentrate Grade N/A 58-64% Fe
“These metallurgical results confirm an important technical breakthrough for the Decar Project,”
commented Martin Turenne, the Company’s President and CEO. “The confirmation of a simple, robust
flowsheet using conventional magnetic separation and flotation parameters paves the way for Decar’s
ongoing development, and for the exploration and development of awaruite nickel targets generally. The
substantial increase in projected DTR nickel recoveries from 82% in the 2013 PEA to up to 90%
demonstrates the strong metallurgical performance of the Baptiste deposit. The consistent production of
concentrates grading from 55% to 72% nickel further establishes the potential for the Baptiste deposit to
generate a clean nickel product with no sulphur and very high metal content.”
Mr. Turenne continued, “We also note the successful production of a high iron-content by-product, which
provides the basis to investigate the potential implications of an entirely new product stream on the
Project’s economics. We will continue to advance this metallurgical program through further
optimization testing and trade-off studies to optimize the components of an updated mine plan for the
Baptiste Deposit.”
Description of Metallurgical Test Work
The metallurgical testing was conducted at ALS Metallurgy in Kamloops, British Columbia and overseen
by Jeffrey B. Austin, P. Eng., President of International Metallurgical and Environmental Inc. The test
work was completed on a representative mineralized composite measuring approximately 400 kilograms
comprised of core sample reject material from four drill holes completed in 2012 and 2017 in the
southeastern portion of the Baptiste Deposit.
The metallurgical study consisted of two phases of testing. Phase 1 was focused primarily on magnetic
separation of magnetic materials from non-magnetic materials in the composite material. Approximately
75 percent of the contained nickel in the Baptiste Deposit occurs as awaruite, a highly magnetic nickel-
iron alloy that is readily recovered by low-intensity magnetic separation. The deposit also contains
significant magnetite (iron oxide), which is recovered concurrently with the awaruite in magnetic
separation. Phase 1 test work confirmed the recovery of nickel and iron using magnetic separation and
the upgrading of these minerals into a bulk Ni-Fe concentrate using re-grinding and magnetic cleaning.
Phase 2 involved flotation tests on magnetic concentrates produced in Phase 1 to enable the separation of
awaruite from magnetite for the production of two concentrates: a nickel concentrate grading from 55% to
72% Ni and 25% Fe, and a magnetite iron ore concentrate grading from 58% to 64% Fe. The high-grade
nickel concentrate produced during the testing program approximates the composition of pure awaruite, a
nickel-iron alloy comprised of approximately 75% Ni and 25% Fe.
Phase 2 testing confirmed that the separation of nickel from a bulk Ni-Fe concentrate can be achieved
using traditional flotation processes. Test work at ALS included open circuit testing of nickel recovery to
evaluate reagent options, liberation requirements in flotation, and retention time requirements. The
flotation process uses copper sulphate to facilitate the attachment of flotation collectors to the awaruite
mineral surface in a manner that mirrors conventional zinc flotation processes. Flotation collector 3418A,
an industry standard reagent, was used in the flotation process.
The tailings stream from the nickel flotation process is a high-grade iron concentrate which testing has
shown to contain 58 to 64% iron. The Company plans further evaluative work to examine the
commercial potential of this iron ore concentrate, including an evaluation of the possible impact on the
Project’s economics.
In summary, the production of a 55% to 72% nickel concentrate and an iron ore concentrate grading 58 to
64% Fe from the Baptiste composite sample with a feed grade of 0.145% DTR Ni is based on traditional
grinding, magnetic separation and flotation processes; a flowsheet is shown in Figure 1. Unit operations
in this flowsheet include crushing, grinding to 120-360 microns (P80), magnetic separation with a mass
pull of 10-15%, magnetic concentrate re-grinding to 25 microns (P80), rougher flotation concentrate
production and flotation cleaning.
Figure 1 – Proposed Flowsheet for Baptiste Nickel Recovery and Upgrading
The expected metallurgical performance of the test sample, based on test work completed at ALS
Metallurgy, is summarized in Table 2.
Table 2 – Summary of Expected Metallurgical Performance – Baptiste Composite Sample
Primary Grind Size (P80
microns)
Mass Recovered to Magnetic
Rough Concentrate (Note 1)
Overall Process Recovery (%
of DTR Ni Feed Grade)
90 10% 90%
120 10% 89%
240 15% 84%
360 15% 80%
Note 1: Mass Recovered to Magnetic Rough Concentrate: weight percentage of the magnetic concentrate,
relative to the weight of the feed to the magnetic separator
These results were obtained with a consistent set of metallurgical parameters across all test samples and
demonstrate a significant improvement over test work completed for the 2013 PEA, demonstrating higher
nickel recoveries, higher nickel grade in the final concentrate and a lower mass pull in magnetic
separation. The recovery and concentrate grade assumptions in the 2013 PEA were based on a two-stage
process consisting of a primary coarse grind to P80 600 microns, followed by rougher magnetic separation
with an estimated mass pull of 33%, then a re-grind of that fraction to P80 70 microns followed by
Knelson gravity concentration to produce a concentrate grading 13.5% nickel, 45-50% iron and 1-2%
chromium. The projected recoveries in the 2013 PEA were 82% of the DTR nickel (see 2013 PEA filed
under the Company’s SEDAR profile on August 21, 2013).
Future Metallurgical Test Work
The Company will undertake further metallurgical test work in 2019 to evaluate the following aspects of
metallurgical performance:
• Optimization of the flotation process for the production of high-grade nickel concentrates,
including evaluation of reagent quantities and locked-cycle test performance
• Optimization of the quality of the iron ore concentrate produced as a by-product of the nickel
recovery process
• Detailed evaluation of minor elements in the nickel concentrate and iron ore concentrate
• Leach testing to evaluate the amenability of magnetic and flotation concentrates to the production
of a high-grade nickel solution
Cautionary Note Regarding 2013 PEA
The 2013 PEA, by definition, is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are
considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would
enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There can be no certainty that the PEA will be
realized. It is important to note that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
Qualified Persons
The metallurgical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian
regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosures for Minerals
Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators (“NI 43-101”) and supervised, reviewed and verified
by Jeffrey B. Austin, P.Eng., President of International Metallurgical and Environmental Inc., a
“Qualified Person” as defined by NI 43-101 and the person who oversees metallurgical developments for
FPX Nickel.
About the Decar Nickel District
The Company’s Decar Nickel District claims cover 245 square kilometres of the Mount Sidney Williams
ultramafic/ophiolite complex, 90 km northwest of Fort St. James in central BC. The District is a two hour
drive from Fort St. James on a high-speed logging road. A branch line of the Canadian National Railway
is less than 5 kilometres east from Decar’s Baptiste Deposit and the BC Hydro power grid comes within
110 kilometres south of the property.
Decar hosts a greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a naturally occurring nickel-
iron alloy called awaruite, 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, the B
Target, the Sid Target and Van Target, as confirmed by drilling in the first three plus petrographic
examination, electron probe analyses and outcrop sampling on all four.
Of the four targets in the Decar Nickel District, the Baptiste Deposit has been the main focus of diamond
drilling from 2010 to 2017, with a total of 82 holes completed. The Sid Target was tested with two holes
in 2010 and the B Target had a single hole drilled into it in 2011; all three holes intersected nickel-iron
alloy mineralization over wide intervals with DTR nickel grades comparable to the Baptiste Deposit. The
Van Target was not drill-tested at that time as rock exposure was very poor prior to logging activity by
forestry companies.
As reported in a NI 43-101 resource estimate prepared on February 26, 2018, the Baptiste deposit
contains 1.843 billion tonnes of indicated resources at an average grade of 0.123% DTR nickel, for 2.3
million tonnes of DTR nickel, and 391 million tonnes of inferred resources with an average grade of
0.115% DTR nickel, for 0.4 million tonnes of DTR nickel, reported at a cut-off grade of 0.06%. Mineral
resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
About FPX Nickel Corp.
FPX Nickel Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of the Decar Nickel-Iron Alloy Project,
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 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.