VANCOUVER, BC, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV:
FPX) ("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce
the creation of a Technical Advisory Committee ("TAC") to
assist and provide guidance to the FPX management team regarding
all aspects of exploration and development of the Company's
Baptiste Nickel Project ("Baptiste" or the "Project")
in central British Columbia. The
TAC is comprised of five senior mining professionals who will
review project materials and meet with FPX management on a monthly
basis to address risks and opportunities pertaining to the
development of Baptiste. The founding members of the TAC are
Clem Pelletier, Martyn Creaney, Rob
Pease, Peter Marshall, and
Paul Hosford (see biographies
below).
"We are fortunate to have assembled such a highly-decorated team
of mining specialists to form our TAC," commented Dr. Peter Bradshaw, FPX's Chairman. "In particular,
the additions of Clem Pelletier and
Martyn Creaney greatly expand the
Company's depth of expertise in the development, permitting and
construction of large-scale projects in British Columbia, with our TAC members having
variously played key roles in B.C. projects including Mt. Milligan,
Galore Creek, Blackwater, KSM, and Brucejack. We look forward
to drawing on the TAC's deep experience and capabilities to assist
in the continued advancement of Baptiste."
Clem Pelletier
Clem Pelletier is a process
chemist/metallurgist by training with over 50 years of experience
in the mining industry and resource-related environmental
consulting. Mr. Pelletier was the founder of the Rescan Group
(now part of ERM), a globally recognized, industry-leading mineral
processing engineering and environmental consulting firm. He
has managed large environmental impact studies and permitting for
major projects such as the KSM Project, the Jansen Potash Project,
Goro Nickel, the Voisey's Bay Nickel
Project, Escondida, the Ekati Diamond Mine and many
others. Mr. Pelletier is a former Director of Goldcorp and
Newmont Corporation, currently serves on the board of Seabridge
Gold, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy.
Martyn Creaney
Martyn Creaney is a civil
engineer with over 40 years of construction and project management
experience. Mr. Creaney has been actively involved in the
development of mining projects in Australia, Asia and the Americas, including 25 years with
Placer Dome, where he was Vice President, Design &
Construction, overseeing all design and construction activities for
the company. Over the past 15 years, he has provided senior
advisory services to various companies, including as OceanaGold's
Senior Project Advisor for the development of the Haile Gold Mine
in South Carolina and as
independent Project Reviewer for Pretium's Brucejack Gold Mine in
British Columbia.
Rob Pease
Rob Pease, P. Geo., serves on the
board of FPX Nickel, Liberty Gold,
and Pure Gold Mining. Rob founded Terrane Metals, which
developed the Mt. Milligan copper-gold project, located in central
British Columbia, through final
feasibility and the commencement of project construction, before
Terrane's acquisition by Thompson Creek Metals Company for
$650 million in 2010. Rob is a
former Director and Strategic Advisor to Richfield Ventures, which
advanced the Blackwater gold project in central British Columbia., until the acquisition of
Richfield by New Gold for $500
million in 2011. Mr. Pease is a Fellow of the
Geological Association of Canada
and holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences from the
University of Waterloo.
Peter Marshall
Peter Marshall, P. Eng., serves
on the board of FPX Nickel and previously was the Vice-President of
Project Development for New Gold, where he led the completion of
the feasibility study for the Blackwater gold project in central
British Columbia. Prior to joining New Gold, Peter was the
Senior Vice President of Project Development for Terrane Metals and
was responsible for managing the technical development of the Mt.
Milligan copper-gold project, from the preliminary economic
assessment ("PEA") through to feasibility before the acquisition of
Terrane by Thompson Creek in 2010. Mr. Marshall is a Member of
the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia and holds a Bachelor of
Science in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Paul Hosford
Paul Hosford is a senior mining
professional with over 30 years of experience in metallurgy,
operations, project development and commissioning. Paul has
served in senior metallurgical, project development,
and project manager roles for Anglo American, Barrick
Gold and New Gold. He served as the VP Engineering and
Project Manager for Terrane's Mt. Milligan copper-gold project
through the development phase and into project design and
construction. Mr. Hosford is a Member of the Association of
Professional Engineers of British
Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.
Stock Option Grant
The Company further announces that a total of 3,100,000 stock
options have been granted to the Company's directors, officers,
advisors and employees. The stock options have an exercise price of
$0.70 per share and will expire on
April 9, 2026.
About the Decar Nickel District
The Company's Decar Nickel District claims cover 245 square
kilometres 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, 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, the B
target, the Sid target and Van target, 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 main 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 into
it 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
logging activity by forestry companies.
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 to 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.
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.