FPX Nickel Produces Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate and Successfully Completes Pilot-Scale Refinery Testwork
Suite 320 – 1155 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 2P4
Tel: 604.681.8600
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FPX Nickel Produces Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate and
Successfully Completes Pilot-Scale Refinery Testwork
Vancouver, October 15, 2024 – FPX Nickel Corp. ( TSX-V: FPX, OTCQB: FPOCF ) (“FPX” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed pilot-scale hydrometallurgy refinery
testwork and produced battery-grade nickel sulphate from its Baptiste Nickel Project (“Baptiste” or the
“Project”). Following on the Company’s successful 2023 bench-scale hydrometallurgy refining testwork
program, the 2024 pilot plant represents a significant step forward in demonstrating the technical maturity
of refining Baptiste’s awaruite concentrate. This milestone marks completion of the campaign funded in
part by a grant from Natural Resources Canada (“ NRCan”) under the Government of Canada’s Critical
Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (“ CMRDD”) program , which is advancing the
commercial readiness of processing technologies to support the development of Canada’s EV battery
material supply chain.
Highlights
• Successful Pilot-Scale Testwork: Continuous pilot-scale testing of all leaching unit operations
confirmed the refinery flowsheet and generated the expected low-impurity leach solution for
downstream purification and crystallization testwork
• Flowsheet Optimization: Testwork has led to flowsheet improvement through the removal of unit
operations in the leaching area that proved redundant during continuous, steady-state piloting
• Production of Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate: Bench-scale testing of solution purification and
crystallization unit operations further demonstrate FPX Nickel’s ability to produce battery -grade
nickel sulphate crystals from Baptiste’s awaruite concentrate
“The results of our hydrometallurgy refinery pilot plant testwork confirm the technical advantages of
awaruite nickel mineralization to produce battery -grade nickel sulphate, further demonstrating the
opportunity to develop a more streamlined nickel supply chain entirely in Canada,” commented Andrew
Osterloh, FPX Nickel’s Senior Vice-President, Projects & Operations. “Baptiste would represent an almost
50% increase to Canada’s current annual nickel production, all without adding to or displacing any of
Canada’s nickel smelting or complex refinery capacity, thereby pioneering a uniquely low-cost, low-carbon
link between mining and EV battery production. The results from our p ilot plant testwork are currently
being incorporated into our Awaruite Refinery Scoping Study, which will contain a detailed evaluation of
capital, operating costs and the overall economics of the awaruite refinery; the Study remains on track for
completion in the first quarter of 2025.”
Figure 1 – Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate Crystals Produced from Baptiste’s Awaruite Nickel
Concentrate
Background
As reported in the Company’s news release dated April 30, 2024, FPX operated a mineral processing pilot
plant earlier this year and successfully generate d awaruite concentrate to feed a downstream
hydrometallurgical refining pilot plant (the “ 2024 Hydromet Program”). FPX re -engaged Sherritt
Technologies Ltd. to conduct the 2024 Hydromet Program, building on Sherritt’s successful completion of
the previous bench-scale hydrometallurgical testwork in 2023 (the “2023 Hydromet Program”, described
in the Company’s May 17, 2023 news release).
Building on the 2023 Hydromet Program, the 2024 Hydromet Program aimed to further demonstrate the
viability of FPX’s refinery flowsheet under pilot-scale and continuous operating conditions. Additionally,
the 2024 Hydromet Program also aimed to validate the new ammonia -based purification flowsheet , as
discussed in the Company’s news release dated September 16, 2024.
Hydrometallurgical Refinery Pilot Plant
The 2024 Hydromet Program was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of continuous, pilot -scale
processing of all unit operations in the leaching area as outlined in Figure 2. Phase 2 consisted of batch,
bench-scale processing of all unit operations in the purification and crystallization area. A portion of leach
solution produced during Phase 1 has been reserved for future continuous, pilot-scale processing of the
purification and crystallization area , ensuring the final refinery strategy is supported by purification and
crystallization requirements defined in collaboration with FPX Nickel’s downstream partners.
Figure 2: Awaruite Refinery – Updated Block Flow Diagram
Leaching Area
Continuous, pilot-scale leaching ran for five days and was fed with the high -grade (60% Ni) awaruite
concentrate produced during the earlier mineral processing pilot plant. The flowsheet configuration and
operating conditions were the same as the 2023 Hydromet Program, with pressure leaching conducted at a
moderate temperature (150°C) and pressure (750 kPag). The key performance metrics established at the
start of the pilot plant campaign were to o btain high overall nickel and cobalt leach extractions while
generating a final leach solution with high nickel and low impurity concentrations.
These key performance metrics are summarized in Table 1 , which also presents the basis of the previous
economic study (see the Company’s news release dated September 6, 2023). In the pressure leach, excellent
nickel and cobalt overall leach extractions were achieved at 99.3% and 97.9%, respectively. These high
extractions include the unoptimized start-up period, highlighting the robustness of the leach system.
In the atmospheric leach (which utilizes awaruite to neutralize and purify the pressure leach solution),
excellent impurit y removal was achieved , including the near-complete removal of iron, aluminum,
chromium and copper. The final leach solution contained greater than 100 g/L nickel, which is very high
by industry standards and will reduce the capital and operating costs for downstream purification and
crystallization unit operations. The impurity elements of zinc, manganese, and calcium are all low due to
the inherent low concentration of these impurities in Baptiste’s awaruite concentrate.
Table 1 – Leaching area key performance metrics achieved during piloting
Pilot Plant
Results
Previous Study
Basis
Overall Leach Extractions
Nickel (%) 99.3 99.3
Cobalt (%) 97.9 99.5
Final Leach Solution Composition
pH 5.5 >4.5
Nickel (g/L) 104 95
Cobalt (g/L) 2.1 1.5
Magnesium (g/L) 1.6 1.5
Iron (g/L) <0.003 <0.003
Aluminium (g/L) <0.003 <0.003
Chromium (g/L) <0.003 <0.003
Copper (g/L) <0.003 <0.05
Zinc (g/L) 0.01 <0.05
Manganese (g/L) 0.01 <0.05
Calcium (g/L) 0.01 <0.05
In addition to the core leaching operations, the leaching area also includes two smaller circuits to manage
build-up of certain trace elements , including copper removal and aluminum/ chromium removal. The
copper removal circuit, which removes copper by a cementation process, was successfully operated during
piloting. Aluminum and chromium were both shown to deport with pressure leach residue, supporting the
deletion of this slipstream removal circuit, thereby simplifying the overall leach flowsheet.
Additionally, solid-liquid separation characterization testing was completed on both pressure leach and
atmospheric leach residues, with reasonable settling and filtration rates observed for both . These results
will inform dewatering equipment sizing and specifications in the ongoing Awaruite Refinery Scoping
Study.
Purification and Crystallization
A portion of the bulk solution generated from the leaching area pilot was processed in bench -scale batch
testing through cobalt solvent extraction, nickel solvent extraction, and nickel sulphate crystallization. This
purification scheme is simpler relative to that required to process other nickel intermediates such as MHP
and MSP, with this simplicity made possible by the low impurities contained in , and the neutralization
properties of, the awaruite concentrate.
In order to validate the new purification flowsheet developed during Refinery Value Engineering studies
(see the Company’s news release dated September 16, 2024), solvent extraction operations utilized
ammonia as the neutralizing reagent (rather than caustic, which was used in the 2023 Hydromet Program).
Along with lower operating costs, the change to an ammonia-based flowsheet allows for the production of
an ammonium sulphate byproduct , a valuable fertilizer product, instead of the previous sodium sulphate
waste product . The new ammonia -based purification unit operations achieved similar successful
performance and results as those achieved during the 2023 Hydromet Program, with the produced crystals
(see Figure 1 and Table 2) continuing to meet the strict target specifications for battery applications.
Table 2 – Baptiste Nickel Sulphate Crystal Quality vs. Target Specification
Element Units Nickel Sulphate Crystals
Baptiste Testwork Target Specification1
Nickel wt% >22 >22
Aluminum ppm <1 <5
Arsenic ppm <1 <2
Calcium ppm <1 <5
Cadmium ppm <1 <1
Cobalt ppm 1 <50
Chromium ppm <1 <3
Copper ppm <1 <3
Iron ppm <1 <3
Potassium ppm <1 <10
Magnesium ppm 3 <5
Manganese ppm <1 <5
Sodium ppm <10 <20
Lead ppm <1 <2
Silicon ppm <5 <10
Zinc ppm 3 <5
Note 1: Based on review of industrially available products and battery producers’ requirements
Path Forward
With the completion of the hydrometallurgical testwork reported herein, the Company has completed all
testing associated with the CMRDD funding provided by NRCan . Refinery testing results are being
incorporated into the ongoing Awaruite Refinery Scoping Study, the results of which will be available in
the first quarter of 2025.
Qualified Person
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”). Testwork was supervised, reviewed, and
verified by Kyle D. Marte, P.Eng., FPX Nickel’s Principal Metallurgist and a “Qualified Person” as defined
by NI 43-101.
About the Baptiste Nickel Project
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 408 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 territories, keyohs, and consultative boundaries of the Tl’azt’en
Nation, Binche Whut’enne, Yekooche First Nation, and Takla Nation.
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
https://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.