VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 20,
2022 /CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX)
(OTCQB: FPOCF) ("FPX" or the "Company") is
pleased to report that it is has engaged Next Mine Consulting Ltd.
to prepare an updated mineral resource estimate for the Baptiste
Project ("Baptiste" or the "Project") at the Decar
Nickel District ("Decar") in central British Columbia, incorporating results from
2021's successful in-fill drilling program. The mineral resource
estimate, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter
of 2022, will be based on an improved modelling approach including
both geological domaining and grade shell modelling, and will be
expanded to report the mineral content of total nickel and
potential by-product elements including iron and cobalt.
Highlights
- New Baptiste Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate, with the
following improvements:
-
-
- Inclusion of results from the successful 2021 in-fill drilling
program and confirming of indicated resources
- Incorporation of an improved modelling approach including both
geological domaining and grade shell modelling, which is expected
to better define internal deposit variability and yield an
improvement in average Davis Tube Recoverable ("DTR") nickel
grade
- Expansion of the reported mineral content to include estimated
grades of total nickel, DTR cobalt, and DTR iron, all representing
potential new streams of value for the Project
"The new mineral resource estimate will represent another
important de-risking step in the ongoing development of Baptiste as
a large-scale, low-cost and low-carbon nickel project," noted
Martin Turenne, FPX's President and
CEO. "We are particularly excited by the potential for a new
modelling approach to yield a more robust, higher-grade DTR nickel
resource, and by the inclusion, for the first time in the Project's
history, of grade reporting for total nickel and the potentially
significant by-product elements of cobalt and iron."
Work is currently underway to produce an updated Baptiste
resource model incorporating results from 2021's successful in-fill
drilling program (see the Company's News Release dated March 14, 2022). The new approach to preparing
the updated resource model includes both geological domaining and
grade shell modelling, as compared to the previous approach applied
in the 2020 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") which
solely used geological domaining. The grade shell domaining
methodology includes classification of material into low, medium,
and high-grade shells (0.06-0.10% DTR nickel, 0.10-0.14% DTR
nickel, and >0.14% DTR nickel, respectively).
The development of the new interburden model is informed by the
previous dike model and altered zones adjacent to dike-host
contacts. The model is further refined by the results of the 2021
in-fill drilling program and structural measurements obtained from
directional drilling. This represents a shift away from the
previous block model which saw a 3% removal of rock mass to account
for waste or dike sections within the deposit. In conjunction with
the new modelling approach, this interburden model will allow for
better understanding and segregation of internal waste for mine
design purposes.
Initial block modelling results appear favourable with the
following potential outcomes:
- An anticipated increase in DTR nickel grade in both the
indicated and inferred categories with an expected minor reduction
in overall tonnage
- Inclusion of new 2021 drilling results supporting the
classification of resources in the indicated category
Further, the scope of the updated resource model will be
expanded to include grade estimations of total nickel, DTR cobalt,
and DTR iron to support process flowsheet opportunities currently
being evaluated by the Company, including:
- Total Nickel: potential to produce a secondary nickel
product consisting of nickel sulphide minerals and/or very fine
grained awaruite which currently does not report as DTR nickel
- DTR Cobalt: potential to produce a cobalt product (such
as mixed hydroxide precipitate ("MHP")) as a secondary
product from a hydrometallurgical operation producing nickel
sulphate for the electric vehicle ("EV") battery
industry
- DTR Iron: potential to upgrade flotation circuit tails
to produce an iron ore concentrate
Further refinements to the classification, variography, and
estimators are currently in progress, in addition to an independent
third-party review by SLR Consulting (formerly Rosco Postle
Associates, or "RPA") of the new modelling and estimation
approach.
The Company expects to release results of the updated Baptiste
mineral resource estimate in the third quarter of 2022, and to
publish complete results in the Project's next National Instrument
("NI") 43-101 technical report, which is currently forecast
for the third quarter of 2022.
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 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,
petrographic examination, electron probe analyses and outcrop
sampling on all four targets. 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, 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 99 holes and 33,700 m 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. At the Van target, the Company
followed up 2021's highly successful maiden drilling program with
an aggressive step-out program in the summer of 2022, with results
forecast for release in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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.
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.