VANCOUVER, BC, June 29, 2021 /CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV:
FPX) ("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce that drilling programs have started at the Company's Decar
Nickel District ("Decar") in central British Columbia.
This marks the commencement of the most active campaign at Decar
since 2012, with a focus on resource confirmation and expansion at
the Baptiste Deposit ("Baptiste") plus an initial drill
campaign at the Van Target, located 6 kilometres north of
Baptiste.
Highlights
- Maiden drilling at the Van Target, which is defined by surface
rock samples with an area extent and nickel grades similar to
Baptiste
- Drilling at Baptiste to convert Inferred resources into the
Indicated category to support an eventual Preliminary Feasibility
Study ("PFS")
"We are very excited to assess the potential for a new discovery
with a maiden, widely-spaced drilling program at Van this summer,"
commented Martin Turenne, FPX's
President and CEO. "In addition to the drilling at Van and
Baptiste, we will also conduct additional exploration around the
Sid and B targets, plus regional exploration at five other
under-explored areas at Decar, as described in our May 26 news release."
Van Target – Maiden Drilling
An initial nine-hole, 3,000-metre drill program has begun at the
Van Target, which is located 6 kilometres north of Baptiste at
similar elevations, and accessible via logging roads. The Van
Target's bedrock samples occur in a previously unexplored area due
to ground cover which was more recently exposed by logging
activity.
Davis Tube magnetically-recovered ("DTR") nickel analysis
of 54 bedrock samples, taken at intervals of 50 to 350 meters at
the Van Target, has defined an area of approximately 2.9 square
kilometers (see Figure 1). This compares very favorably with
the area defined by outcrop sampling and subsequent drilling at
Baptiste, which is 3.2 kilometres along strike with widths of 150
to 1,080 metres.
Prior to the start of drilling, the Company completed a
ground-based magnetic survey to refine the drill-collar locations
for the drilling program, which will take approximately 8
weeks to complete.
Figure 1: Decar Nickel District
Figure 2: Map of Bedrock Surface Sampling at Van
Target
Baptiste Deposit – Infill Drilling
A ten-hole, 2,700 metre infill drilling program has begun at the
Baptiste Deposit. The mine plan in the Baptiste PEA envisaged
the mining of a total of approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of
material for processing over the Project's 35-year mine life, with
approximately 89% of this mineralization classified in the
indicated category and 11% in the inferred category. This
summer's drilling program, which will take approximately 8 weeks to
complete, is expected to convert the indicated resources to the
indicated category to support an eventual Baptiste PFS.
The majority of the inferred resources in the Baptiste mine plan
are located along the margins of the open pit, with some of the
resource blocks occurring near-surface in higher-grade areas of the
deposit (see Figure 3 below). The Company has developed a
three-dimensional drill-hole spacing model where spacing exceeds
the 200-metre spacing requirement for categorization of indicated
resources.
Figure 3: Plan View of Baptiste Deposit Resource
Classification
Dr. Peter Bradshaw, 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 claims cover 245
km2 of the Mount Sidney Williams ultramafic/ophiolite
complex, 90 km northwest of Fort St.
James in central British
Columbia. The District is a two-hour drive from Fort St. James on a high-speed logging
road.
Decar hosts a greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in
the form of a naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite
(Ni3Fe), which is amenable to bulk-tonnage, open-pit
mining. Awaruite mineralization has been identified in four target
areas within this ophiolite complex, being the Baptiste Deposit,
and the B, Sid and Van targets, as confirmed by drilling in the
first three plus petrographic examination, electron probe analyses
and outcrop sampling on all four. Since 2010, approximately
US $24 million has been spent on the
exploration and development of Decar.
Of the four targets in the Decar Nickel District, the Baptiste
Deposit, which was initially the most accessible and had the
biggest known surface footprint, has been the focus of diamond
drilling since 2010, with a total of 82 holes and over 31,000
metres of drilling completed. The Sid target was tested with
two holes in 2010 and the B target had a single hole drilled
in 2011; all three holes intersected nickel-iron alloy
mineralization over wide intervals with DTR nickel grades
comparable to the Baptiste Deposit. The Van target was not
drill-tested at that time as rock exposure was very poor prior to
more recent logging activity.
As reported in the current NI 43-101 resource estimate, having
an effective date of September 9,
2020, the Baptiste Deposit contains 1.996 billion tonnes of
indicated resources at an average grade of 0.122% DTR nickel,
containing 2.4 million tonnes of nickel, plus 593 million tonnes of
inferred resources with an average grade of 0.114% DTR nickel,
containing 0.7 million tonnes of nickel, both reported at a cut-off
grade of 0.06% DTR nickel. Mineral resources are not mineral
reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
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.