FPX Nickel Outlines Baptiste Nickel Project Advancement Activities
Suite 320 – 1155 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 2P4
Tel: 604.681.8600
e-mail: [email protected]
FPX Nickel Outlines Baptiste Nickel Project Advancement Activities
Vancouver, March 5, 2024 – FPX Nickel Corp. (TSX-V: FPX, OTCQB: FPOCF) (“FPX” or the
“Company”) is pleased to outline plans for advancement of the Baptiste Nickel Project (“Baptiste” or the
“Project”) in 2024. Building on the completion of the robust 2023 preliminary feasibility study (“ PFS”),
the Company’s strategy is designed to prioritize critical path activities in preparation for entry into the
Provincial and Federal environmental assessment (“EA”) in the first quarter of 2025.
Highlights
• Critical readiness activities for the EA are focused on three key areas:
o Collaboration with Indigenous communities: Achieved through building of
relationships and progression towards establishment of EA agreements with potential
participating Indigenous communities. This will include enshrining protocols for
collaborative decision-making and consent-based processes with each community.
o Cultural and environmental baseline studies: FPX is committed to an Indigenous-led
baseline program, and the Company’s ongoing and expanded program will continue to
build the comprehensive dataset required for the EA process and engineering studies.
o Engineering studies and feasibility readiness: Through desktop and laboratory
programs, the Company will continue to refine key Project elements, readying the project
for the EA and feasibility study processes.
“FPX is focused on prioritizing and advancing the key workstreams to successfully enter the EA process,
which sits along the critical path for the overall development of the Baptiste Nickel Project,” commented
Martin Turenne, FPX’s President and CEO. “We are committed to executing project development activities
in partnership with Indigenous communities in the Project area and look forward to supporting the
development of Canada’s critical minerals ecosystem in keeping with our core values of safety, respect, and
collaboration.”
Collaboration with Indigenous Communities
In 2024, the Company will work to establish EA agreements with all potential participating Indigenous
communities. FPX is committed to building relationships with Indigenous communities early and through
inclusive processes, to providing resources to enable engagement and collaborative decision-making, to
enabling Indigenous communities to advance self -determined goals , and to optimizing long-term
sustainable benefits and opportunities connected to the Project.
FPX will continue collaborative Project design in advance of the EA process, building on a series of mine
design workshops initiated in 2023 . Initial discussions in these workshops have focused on community
values and preliminary learnings from Indigenous-led environmental baseline studies and have emphasized
the importance of respect and protection of the environment.
A collaborative decision-making process with Indigenous communities is planned in 2024 to determine key
aspects of mine design including tailings facility location and powerline routing, in advance of entering the
EA process. Agreements with Indigenous communities are a priority for the Company in 2024 as they will
be a mechanism to formalize these commitments and initiatives.
Cultural and Environmental Baseline Studies
Cultural and environmental baseline studies have been ongoing for the Baptiste Nickel Project since early
2022 and include surface water hydrology and water quality, wildlife, vegetation, fish eries and aquatics,
and archeology programs. Ongoing and expanded 2024 programs have been scoped in preparation for the
EA process. The 2024 field program will include an expansion of activities in the Project area, and
commencement of studies focused on linear infrastructure, including the Project access road and powerline
corridors.
FPX is committed to the ongoing execution of an Indigenous-led cultural and environmental baseline
program. To achieve this, the Company has prioritized engagement of Indigenous-owned businesses and
partnerships, such as Shas-Ti Environmental LP and Sasuchan Environmental LP, to ensure integration of
Indigenous perspectives into the scoping and execution of these studies.
“The environmental consulting group Ecofor and the community of Binche have a long history of working
together and in 2022 this was formalized by the establishment of Shas-Ti Environmental, a partnership
undertaking the Indigenous-led baseline studies and training of community members for the Baptiste Nickel
Project,” commented Dwayne Martin, Community Liaison Manager for Shas-Ti Environmental. “A Dakelh
phrase that guides our approach to collaboration is Alhgoh 'uts'ut'en, meaning we all work together. We are
extremely proud of the work we are doing and that FPX is committed to this philosophy of working
together.”
Project Design & Engineering
Following completion of the PFS in October 2023, the Company conducted a comprehensive planning
exercise to define the path forward for Baptiste through project development and into production, and to
ensure the Company will enter the EA process with the level of engineering definition necessary to de-risk
the overall Project timeline. In 2024, engineering work will be centered on metallurgical testing and value
engineering activities.
Metallurgy
The PFS was robustly supported by an extensive metallurgical testwork program which included extensive
bench and multiple pilot-scale testwork programs. The Company has now commenced the feasibility study
(“FS”) metallurgical program, which is focused on refining select elements of the flowsheet while also
completing the typical testwork elements required to support FS detailing.
The FS metallurgical program commenced with pilot-scale testing of the concentrator flowsheet to (a)
refine select elements of the Baptiste concentrator flowsheet, and (b) produce sufficient awaruite
concentrate to support larger-scale testwork of the downstream refinery flowsheet. The concentrator pilot-
scale testwork program is nearing completion, and results along with the confirmed plan for refin ery
testwork for the production of battery-grade nickel sulphate will be presented in April 2024. Both of these
programs are being funded in part by a non-repayable grant from the federal government of Canada under
the Critical Minerals Research, Development, and Demonstration (“CMRDD”) program.
Other elements of the FS testwork program in 2024 include the types of typical and routine testwork
required to support FS detailing, including bulk material handling characterization, solid-liquid separation,
comminution variability, briquetting, and flotation tailings leach optimization testwork. Additionally, the
Company will evaluate the potential opportunities which were presented in the PFS, such as nickel sulphide
flotation and upgrading of a potential iron ore concentrate . The FS testwork program is expected to run
through to 2025, and material findings will be sequentially released when completed.
Value Engineering
Building on the technical and commercial viability demonstrated in the PFS, the Company has commenced
a value engineering program which looks to further improve project value, and also provide suitable layout
and execution certainty ahead of the EA process. To this effect, concurrent value engineering studies are
focusing on optimization of the following areas: process plant design, overall site layout, carbon intensity,
and linear infrastructure (access road and powerline).
The value engineering exercise has identified s everal potential improvements to the conceptual Project
design; the Company will report the full results of the value engineering program in the second quarter of
2024. Technically and economically feasible alternatives that are identified through value engineering will
be further evaluated through collaboration with Indigenous communities, as described above.
Feasibility Study Planning
The Company will also progress scoping and planning for the 2025 field season, which will focus on data
collection to support the feasibility study, including geotechnical investigations, continued environmental
baseline data collection, and resource drilling.
Andrew Osterloh, P.Eng., FPX’s Senior Vice President, Projects & Operations , FPX’s Qualified Person
under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of this news release.
About the Decar Nickel District
The Company’s Baptiste Nickel Project represents a large -scale greenfield discovery of nickel
mineralization in the form of a sulphur-free, nickel-iron mineral called awaruite (Ni 3Fe) hosted in an
ultramafic/ophiolite complex. The Baptiste mineral claims cover an area of 245 km2 west of Middle River
and north of Trembleur Lake, in central British Columbia. In addition to the Baptiste Deposit itself,
awaruite mineralization has been confirmed through drilling at several target areas within the same claims
package, most notably at the Van Target which is located 6 km to the north of the Baptiste Deposit. Since
2010, approximately US $30 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Baptiste.
The Baptiste Deposit is located within the Baptiste Creek watershed, on the traditional and unceded
territories of the Tl’azt’en Nation and Binche Whut’en, and within several Tl’azt’enne and Binche
Whut’enne keyohs. FPX has conducted mineral exploration activities to date subject to the conditions of
agreements with First Nations and keyoh holders.
About FPX Nickel Corp.
FPX Nickel Corp. is focused on the exploration and development 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 u ncertainties, 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.