VANCOUVER, BC, June 9, 2022
/CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) (OTCQB: FPOCF)
("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an
update on key findings from a series of engineering trade-off
studies ("TOS") which have tangibly de-risked and improved
the value of the Baptiste Nickel Project (the "Project").
These TOS focused on those project elements which have the
strongest influence on overall Project value, with common
objectives of optimizing Project economics, reducing the risk
profile and better defining optionality ahead of the next study
phase.
Highlights
- A comminution circuit utilizing semi-autogenous grinding
("SAG") tangibly improves project value and provides an
improved execution basis versus the previously considered
high-pressure grinding rolls ("HPGR") approach
- There is significant value in a phased construction approach,
including an initial operating phase of 4-7 years at 100,000 tonnes
per day ("tpd") followed by an expansion to 150,000 tpd for
the remainder of the 30-plus year mine life, versus the previously
considered single-build 120,000 tpd approach
- Multiple tailings storage locations have been identified as
technically feasible, including conventional facility
configurations with reduced sand requirements for dam construction,
thereby enabling finer primary grinding to increase nickel
recovery
- An improved understanding of options for routing of the site
access road and off-site power system, better defining the
economics of those linear facilities
"The completion of these trade-off studies marks a significant
milestone for FPX, demonstrating our commitment to a methodical,
risk-based approach to project development," noted Martin Turenne, the Company's President and CEO.
"These findings have yielded a more robust project model, one which
will contribute to lower development risk and improved project
economics in the next stage of study."
Background
Following on the September 2020
release of the Baptiste Nickel Project Preliminary Economic
Assessment (the "PEA"), the Company has been focused on both
optimization and de-risking efforts ahead of the next study stage.
Results from the Company's 2021 field and metallurgical testwork
programs were fed into a series of value-based TOS conducted from
the fourth quarter of 2021 through to the second quarter of 2022.
The TOS were conducted with assistance from several of the
Company's key service providers, including:
- Ausenco Engineering Canada Ltd. – process facilities and
on-site infrastructure
- Moose Mountain Technical Services – mine design and
engineering
- Knight Piesold Ltd. – tailings and water management
- Onsite Engineering Ltd. – site access road upgrades and
alignment
- Carisbrooke Ltd. – off-site power system options and
alignment
While TOS results will be further refined at the commencement of
the next formal Project study, the early addressing of optionality
will allow the next study phase to be more efficient, focusing on
robust project definition rather than optionality. In addition to
improving Project value, the TOS findings provide a more mature
technical and economic basis as the Company advances towards
progressive engagement, consultation, and accommodation activities,
thereby supporting more meaningful discussions and more informed
decisions in defining the Project scope.
Comminution – Crushing and
Grinding Circuits
The Company's comminution trade-off study looked at defining the
best value crushing and grinding technology for the Project, with
the PEA's HPGR flowsheet as a base case. Key criteria for this TOS
were extracted from 2021 grindability and pilot-scale HPGR testwork
(summarized in the Company's news release dated December 8, 2021) and augmented by benchmarking
of other ultramafic deposits worldwide.
Initial screening of suitable technologies and configurations
shortlisted conventional flowsheets utilizing either HPGR or SAG
technologies. Further evaluations supported a holistic, value-based
decision basis considering capital cost, operating costs,
constructability, operability, maintainability, execution schedule,
project footprint, and emissions.
Following evaluation, a SAG-based comminution circuit was
definitively identified as best value, with contributing factors
including:
- Capital Cost – typical savings associated with
SAG-based circuits versus HPGR (20-30%) are amplified due to
Baptiste's site conditions, topography, and mineralization
characteristics
- Operating Costs – typical savings associated with
HPGR-based circuits (20-25%) are muted due to the low-cost of
low-carbon power in British
Columbia and the Baptiste deposit's low abrasiveness
- Constructability, Operability, Maintainability, Footprint,
and Emissions – all favour a SAG-based circuit over an
HPGR approach
Comminution TOS findings were validated through additional
grindability testwork and an independent subject matter expert
("SME") review of all testwork, flowsheet selection, and
equipment sizing, with results confirming the TOS basis and
recommendation.
Project Scale and
Phasing
This trade-off study looked at challenging the PEA's
single-build 120,000 tonne per day concentrator throughput
scenario. This evaluation considered project scales ranging from
60,000 to 150,000 tpd as part of both single-build and phased
construction approaches. Key differentiators in the TOS include
reducing the initial project build burden, maximizing the mine's
higher-grade profile during payback years, initial build versus
expansion funding scenarios (financing versus free cash flow), and
improved metallurgical flexibility during the initial operating
years due to new grind size opportunities identified in the
tailings trade-off study basis (see below).
Tangible value was identified in a phased construction approach,
including an initial operating phase of 4-7 years at approximately
100,000 tpd, followed by an expansion to approximately 150,000
tpd. This initial throughput level reduces the initial
capital burden and build intensity, with the expansion to 150,000
tpd resulting in a similar volume of total nickel produced as the
single-build 120,000 tpd approach, but over a shorter total mine
life.
This improved approach to project throughput and construction
favourably impacts the Project's initial capital burden, better
utilizes the mine grade profile, funds the expansion from free cash
flow at the end of the PEA's identified payback period, and
accelerates the overall resource extraction basis, all contributing
to increased Project value.
Tailings Facility Location and
Management Strategy
The tailings trade-off study looked at available tailings
deposition locations and technologies, with the PEA tailings
storage facility location and dam construction methodology as a
base case. A preliminary tailings alternatives assessment looked
for potential storage locations on a regional scale, with all
viable technologies (including management of filtered tailings) and
locations then shortlisted for further technical evaluation.
Further evaluation indicated that there are multiple
conventional and technically viable options for tailings
management, as well as hybrids thereof. Notably, options were
identified which reduce the requirement for the coarse primary
grind as presented in the PEA, thereby providing the Project with
the opportunity to increase nickel recovery, which is particularly
beneficial during the higher-grade initial operating years.
Learnings on the associated technical, environmental, social,
and economic risks and opportunities of each option will be
important inputs to the Company's planned multi-criteria analysis
resulting in identification of a technically, environmentally and
socially preferred strategy for tailings management. This process
will include review and input from multi-disciplinary independent
technical experts and Project partners and
stakeholders.
Primary Grind Size
This trade-off study looked at an improved understanding of the
impact of primary grind size on Project economics. A relatively
coarse primary grind of 300 µm was considered in the PEA so that
sufficient sand quantities would be available to support
construction of the PEA tailings storage facility, which included a
sand dam. The associated limiting impact on metallurgical recovery
due to this coarse primary grind was clearly identified and
included in the PEA financial model.
With the identification of multiple tailings locations and
construction strategies which can utilize finer primary grinds,
there is an opportunity to improve nickel recovery and overall
Project economics. This TOS defined the opportunity associated with
finer primary grind sizes and the results will seed upcoming
evaluations as the Project configuration is further refined.
Linear Facilities – Site Access
Road and Off-Site Power System
These studies looked at potential concepts and alignments for
key linear facilities, including the site access road and off-site
power system. The Access Road TOS confirmed the PEA's site access
road upgrade approach, with the majority of the existing road
network alignment confirmed as suitable for Project requirements.
The Off-Site Power System TOS identified multiple technically
feasible connection options to the British Columbia hydroelectric grid, including
the associated impact of each on the Project basis. Results from
both TOS will support the Company's planned engagement,
consultation, and accommodation activities prior to the selection
of final design concepts.
Andrew Osterloh, 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,
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. The Van target was not
drill-tested at that time as bedrock exposures in the area were
very poor prior to more recent logging activity. In 2021, the
Company executed a maiden drilling program at Van, which has
returned promising results comparable with the strongest results at
Baptiste.
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.