VANCOUVER, BC, March 8,
2023 /CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) (OTCQB:
FPOCF) ("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce that it has received funding from the Government of
Canada to accelerate demonstration
of the technical and commercial viability to produce nickel
sulphate and cobalt hydroxide for the electric vehicle
("EV") battery supply chain from the Company's Baptiste
Nickel Project ("Baptiste" or the "Project") in
central British Columbia. On
completion of a competitive application process, FPX has been
awarded $725,000 by Natural Resources
Canada ("NRCan") under the Government of Canada's Critical Minerals Research,
Development and Demonstration ("CMRDD") program, designed to
assist the development of critical minerals supply chains to
contribute to Canada's goal of
being a net-zero carbon emitter.
Highlights
- Non-dilutive and non-repayable CMRDD funding of $725,000 marks one
of the first instances of direct funding from the Government of
Canada to a development-stage
mining company under the government's new Canadian Critical
Minerals Strategy
- Funding will allow FPX to accelerate demonstration of the
technical and economic viability to produce battery-grade nickel
sulphate and cobalt hydroxide for the EV battery supply chain from
Baptiste awaruite concentrate
- Bench- and pilot-scale testwork funded by the CMRDD grant will
build on previous successful testwork, validating Baptiste's robust
and conventional hydrometallurgical flowsheet which is expected to
be more environmentally sustainable than traditional production
methods, including lower carbon emissions, power consumption, and
waste generation
"Canadian innovators are leading the way towards a cleaner
future. Today's investment of more than $720,000 in FPX Nickel Corp. will help to advance
the development of a dynamic and competitive critical minerals
sector through the development and demonstration of innovative
processing technologies. This means good jobs for workers,
more investment in Canadian innovation, and lower emissions across
the country – all part of our plan to build a cleaner Canada and a prosperous, sustainable economy
that works for everyone."
- The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson,
Canada's Minister of Natural
Resources
"We are grateful to receive this funding support from the
federal government. FPX was honoured to be the only junior mining
company in attendance at the December
2022 launch event for Canada's critical mineral strategy, and for
NRCan's invitation to attend Minister Wilkinson's recent trade
mission to Japan. We see
tremendous opportunity for partnership and collaboration between
industry and the federal government and First Nations on critical
minerals projects such as Baptiste, and look forward to scaling up
the production of battery-grade nickel sulphate and cobalt
hydroxide from Baptiste and to demonstrating the technical and
economic viability of producing battery materials in our upcoming
preliminary feasibility study, expected in the third quarter of
2023."
- Martin
Turenne, President and CEO of FPX Nickel
Background
The Company commenced a bench-scale hydrometallurgical testing
program in December 2022 to optimize
previous leach testing of Baptiste awaruite concentrate, and to
conduct purification and nickel sulphate crystallization
testwork. These testwork results are expected to be reported
in the second quarter of 2023 and will be integrated into the
preliminary feasibility study ("PFS") to demonstrate the
efficient supply of nickel sulphate and cobalt hydroxide products
to the battery material supply chain.
The additional testwork and engineering studies funded by the
Government of Canada's CMRDD
program will accelerate FPX's demonstration of the technical and
commercial viability of producing nickel and cobalt products for
the EV supply chain from Baptiste awaruite concentrate. The
CMRDD-funded program will include larger pilot-scale testing of the
mineral processing flowsheet for the production of awaruite
concentrate, followed by bench- and pilot-scale testing of the
hydrometallurgical flowsheet to convert awaruite concentrate to
nickel sulphate and cobalt hydroxide. This scale of testwork will
provide FPX with additional quantities of nickel and cobalt
products to conduct a market validation program with downstream
consumers in the EV battery supply chain, including large battery
companies and automakers.
The project partly funded by the CMRDD program is now underway
and will be completed during the first quarter of 2024. The Company
will provide further details regarding the scope and objectives of
the project prior to the initiation of pilot-scale testwork in the
third quarter.
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 represents a large-scale
greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a
naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite
(Ni3Fe) hosted in an ultramafic/ophiolite complex. FPX's
mineral claims cover an area of 245 km2 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 ophiolite
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 its potential 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 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 ceo@fpxnickel.com.
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.
SOURCE FPX Nickel Corp.