FPX Nickel produces battery-grade nickel sulphate from Baptiste project 

FPX Nickel (TSXV:FPX; OTCQB:FPOCF) announced the production of battery-grade nickel sulphate from its Baptiste nickel project in central British Columbia. Test work, performed in collaboration with Sherritt Technologies, produced crystals that meet industry standard battery-grade specifications.  

The program included optimization of the flowsheet, reducing the number of purification stages, reagent consumption, and equipment sizes. Results from the test work demonstrate the ability to produce cobalt and copper by-products, both contributing to potential for enhanced economics for Baptiste.  

“The results of our hydrometallurgical test work program clearly demonstrate the technical advantages of awaruite nickel mineralization to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate, presenting an opportunity to develop a new vertically integrated nickel supply chain in Canada,” commented Andrew Osterloh, FPX Nickel’s senior VP projects and operations. 

Osterloh said the Baptiste resource can produce up to 43,500 tonnes of nickel contained in nickel sulphate per year, enough to fulfil 17% of the projected North American electric vehicle battery demand for nickel in 2030, without displacing any of North America’s current smelting and primary refining capacity.  

“These test results are currently being incorporated into our preliminary feasibility study, which remains on track for completion in September 2023, where we will be able to further demonstrate Baptiste’s potential to deliver low-cost, low-carbon nickel units to the EV supply chain over a 30-year mine life,” said Osterloh.  

The company’s Baptiste deposit lies within the Decar nickel district in central B.C. It represents a large-scale greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite 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. 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 $37 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Decar. 

To learn more, visit www.FPXNickel.com.