VANCOUVER, BC, April 3,
2023 /CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) (OTCQB:
FPOCF) ("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce that it has entered into a Global Generative Exploration
Alliance (the "Generative Alliance") with Japan Organization
for Metals and Energy Security ("JOGMEC"). The purpose
of the Generative Alliance, which will be solely funded by JOGMEC,
is to carry out worldwide mineral exploration activities for the
identification and acquisition of high-quality properties which are
prospective for the same style of awaruite nickel mineralization as
contained at the Company's flagship Baptiste Nickel Project
("Baptiste") in central British Columbia.
Highlights
- Global Generative Exploration Alliance for awaruite nickel
targets formed between FPX and JOGMEC, the Japanese government's
energy and mineral exploration agency
- Each party will appoint two representatives to a Management
Committee which will oversee the Generative Alliance
- JOGMEC will solely fund the Generative Alliance's exploration
activities over the next two years (until March 2025)
- FPX will be the initial operator of the Generative Alliance and
will earn an operator fee for providing such management
services
- The Generative Alliance will benefit from the extensive global
database developed by FPX during the 2010-14 period, when the
Company performed reconnaissance exploration activities for
awaruite nickel targets in over a dozen countries across four
continents
"We are very excited to partner with JOGMEC, a highly-regarded
exploration group whose mission is to secure a stable and
affordable supply of energy and mineral resources to strengthen
Japan's industrial base,"
commented Martin Turenne, FPX's
President CEO. "JOGMEC's interest in forming a Generative
Alliance represents a significant endorsement of the technical and
economic viability of awaruite nickel deposits, which we believe
represent a disruptive new source of low-carbon nickel supply for
the electric vehicle battery supply chain. The Generative Alliance
has the potential to expose FPX's shareholders to numerous
exploration discoveries on a global scale, with the costs of the
Alliance to be borne entirely by JOGMEC over the next two
years."
Background
FPX's flagship Baptiste Nickel Project is a greenfield discovery
of nickel mineralization in the form of awaruite, a naturally
occurring nickel-iron mineral (Ni3Fe). Awaruite
nickel mineralization at Baptiste occurs in an ultramafic setting,
where the awaruite mineralization formed during serpentinization of
the nickel-bearing olivine host rock under conditions of low oxygen
and low sulphur fugacity. Through several stages of bench-
and pilot-scale metallurgical testwork and technical studies, FPX
has demonstrated that awaruite mineralization can be economically
recovered through conventional magnetic separation and flotation
unit operations to produce a clean, high-grade nickel
concentrate. Due to the high nickel grade and general lack of
sulphur and deleterious elements, awaruite concentrates can either
bypass smelting for direct sale to the stainless steel industry or
utilize a relatively simple refinery flowsheet to feed the
burgeoning electric vehicle battery supply chain.
In parallel with exploration activities at Baptiste from 2010 to
2014, the Company performed reconnaissance exploration activities
for awaruite nickel targets in over a dozen countries across four
continents. The work performed during this period generated
an extensive global database of prospective targets for awaruite
mineralization in several jurisdictions, providing a strong
foundation for continued exploration activities to identify
high-quality targets modelled on the Baptiste template.
Generative Alliance
FPX and JOGMEC have initiated a Global Generative Exploration
Alliance to carry out mineral exploration activities for the
identification, acquisition and development of high-quality
awaruite nickel targets on a worldwide basis.
During the first phase of the Generative Alliance, JOGMEC will
fund at 100% up to $650,000 per year
for a minimum of two years. Each of the parties will appoint
two representatives to a Management Committee to oversee
exploration activities, and FPX will act as the operator over the
initial two-year term, earning a fee equal to 10% of the General
Alliance expenditures.
One or more specific exploration targets identified by the
Generative Alliance may be advanced to a second phase to be further
developed as a separate designated project ("Designated
Project"). Each Designated Project will have its own work
program and budget with the objective, including through drilling,
to test and further develop the identified targets. For each
Designated Project, JOGMEC and FPX will fund 60% and 40%,
respectively, for approved work programs.
If a Party's beneficial interest in a Designated Project is
diluted to less than 10%, the diluted party's interest will be
converted to 1.5% Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty over
that Designated Project, with the other party retaining a right to
buy-back 1.0% of the NSR royalty for $3,500,000.
Klow Property Earn-In
Agreement
Concurrently with the formation of the Generative Alliance, the
parties have entered into an earn-in agreement (the "Klow
Earn-In Agreement") which provides JOGMEC the option to earn a
beneficial interest in FPX's Klow Project ("Klow") in
central British Columbia.
The key terms of the Klow Earn-in Agreement are as follows:
- FPX grants to JOGMEC the option to earn a 60% beneficial
interest in Klow by funding $1,000,000 in exploration expenditures by no
later than March 31, 2026
- Once JOGMEC has earned its 60% beneficial interest in Klow, the
parties will thereafter fund exploration expenditures pro rata to
their ownership interest
- If either party's beneficial interest in Klow is diluted below
10%, that party's beneficial interest will be converted into a 1.5%
NSR royalty over Klow, with the other party retaining a right to
buy-back 1.0% of the NSR royalty for $3,500,000
Klow is located 120 km northwest of Fort St. James and 55 km north of
Baptiste. An all-season public road runs along the eastern
margin of Klow, with a rail alignment located approximately 12 km
west of the property.
During preliminary regional exploration field work in 2009, FPX
discovered showings of awaruite nickel mineralization.
Follow-up mapping and sampling from 2010 to 2012 further confirmed
widespread surface nickel mineralization over an area measuring
1,500 by 1,000 metres.
In 2012, FPX conducted an initial round of wide-spaced drilling
that tested a 530-metre-long portion of the main target with five
holes totaling 1,579 metres. The northernmost hole, DH-4, was
the best of those initial holes, intersecting 316 metres, averaging
0.10% nickel-in-alloy (a chemical assay for estimating nickel
contained in awaruite form) from beneath 10 metres of overburden to
326 metres downhole. Based on the results of exploration activities
to-date, Klow is considered to have potential to host a mineral
deposit, subject to further confirmation by additional mapping,
sampling and drilling activities going forward.
Erin Wilson, P. Geo., FPX
Nickel's Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and
approved the technical content of this news release.
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.