VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 4, 2023
/CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) (OTCQB:
FPOCF) ("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce additional drill results further confirming the
significant lateral extension of the new nickel discovery at the
Van Target ("Van") in the Company's Decar Nickel District
("Decar" or the "District") in central British Columbia. These drill results
expand nickel mineralization approximately 1 km to the west of
previous drilling, bringing the mineralized footprint at Van to
approximately 2 km in strike length by 1 km in width. Based
on the first two drilling campaigns completed to-date, the scale of
nickel mineralization at Van is trending toward being comparable to
the Baptiste Deposit, which has a strike length of approximately 3
km with an average width of approximately 1 km.
Highlights
- Drilling at Van has outlined strong nickel mineralization over
a large footprint measuring approximately 2 km2, with
mineralization open both laterally and at depth
- Final set of Van drillholes reported herein (22VAN-013 to
22VAN-019) extend nickel mineralization by approximately 1 km to
the west from previously reported holes
-
- New drillhole 22VAN-016 intersected 426.9 m grading 0.127% DTR
Nickel (0.204% Total Nickel), starting at an approximate
vertical depth of 9 m below
surface
- The highest grades to-date at Van are in the southwest portion
of the target area, where future step-out drilling is planned to
test the further lateral and depth extension of mineralization
"On the basis of the first two modestly-sized drill campaigns,
the Van discovery has quickly achieved an extensive footprint of
broad and higher-grade near-surface nickel mineralization,
confirming the potential of the Decar Nickel District to host
multiple large-scale deposits," commented Martin Turenne, the Company's President, and
CEO. "Van remains open for expansion in multiple directions,
most favourably to the south, southwest, and west, where the
encouraging trend of higher-grade nickel in outcrop and drill
results to-date suggest the potential for a significant extension
of the already sizeable 2 km2 mineralized
footprint. While FPX is primarily focused the completion of a
Baptiste preliminary feasibility study in the third quarter of
2023, we look forward to future drilling at Van to confirm our
hypothesis that Van could ultimately host a significant
near-surface nickel resource to complement the neighbouring
Baptiste deposit."
Link to view drill results within interactive 3D VRIFY model
(for best results, view in full screen):
https://vrify.com/decks/12527?auth=8f2e9d49-0b9b-4e44-9fde-cfab2f50b9fc
Van Target
Drilling
The results described herein are from a ten-hole, 2,504 m drill program completed in 2022 at the
Van Target, which is located 6 km north of Baptiste at a similar
elevation, and also accessible via active logging roads (see Figure
1). This drill program was designed to follow up on the
inaugural drilling in 2021, stepping out aggressively from the
initial discovery area to define the extent of mineralization up to
1 km south and 1.5 km west of the holes drilled in 2021. The
results of the first three holes from the 2022 program (22VAN-010
to 22 VAN-012) were previously reported in the Company's
December 12, 2022 news release.
The nickel mineralization at the Van target, as defined by just
19 holes drilled in 2021 and 2022, is approaching the scale of the
Baptiste deposit, which measures 3 km along strike with an
approximate width of 1 km. Mineralization at the Van
target remains open along strike to the west, southwest, and south,
and at depth, confirming the potential for Van to host a
large-scale, standalone nickel deposit.
Table 1 – Van Target Drill Hole Results
Hole
|
Intersections1
|
DTR Nickel
(%)2
|
Total Nickel
(%)2
|
|
|
From
|
To
|
Length
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-013
|
18.7
|
221.0
|
202.3
|
0.019
|
0.151
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-014
|
2.3
|
316.1
|
313.8
|
0.038
|
0.187
|
|
|
including
|
2.3
|
144.0
|
141.7
|
0.056
|
0.212
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-015
|
21.2
|
298.2
|
277.0
|
0.079
|
0.187
|
|
|
including
|
21.2
|
186.0
|
164.8
|
0.089
|
0.192
|
|
|
and
|
186.0
|
298.2
|
112.2
|
0.064
|
0.179
|
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-016
|
12.4
|
439.3
|
426.9
|
0.127
|
0.204
|
|
|
including
|
12.4
|
115.4
|
113.0
|
0.127
|
0.194
|
|
|
including
|
115.4
|
280.0
|
164.6
|
0.121
|
0.215
|
|
|
including
|
280.0
|
439.3
|
159.3
|
0.134
|
0.201
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-017
|
13.1
|
178.3
|
165.2
|
0.087
|
0.191
|
|
|
including
|
13.1
|
116.0
|
102.9
|
0.100
|
0.179
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-018
|
16.0
|
116.0
|
100.0
|
0.080
|
0.186
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22VAN-019
|
8.4
|
106.0
|
97.6
|
0.035
|
Note3
|
|
|
1 The vertical depth (true width) of all
quoted intersections in this news release is interpreted to be
approximately 75% of downhole depth.
2 All mineralized core samples are
assayed for "Total Nickel" and "Davis Tube Recoverable
("DTR") Nickel." "DTR Nickel" analyses measure only
the magnetically recoverable nickel hosted in medium- to
coarse-grained awaruite (nickel-iron alloy), whereas the "total
nickel" analyses measures both magnetically and non-magnetically
recoverable y nickel, the latter hosted in fine-grained awaruite or
nickel sulphide minerals. The Davis Tube method is a
bench-scale metallurgical test procedure which provides an
estimation of magnetically recoverable nickel and is the global
industry-standard geometallurgical test for magnetic recovery
operations and exploration projects. See "Sampling and
Analytical Method", below.
3 Due to laboratory delays, Total Nickel
assays for 22VAN-019 not available as of the date of this news
release.
The nickel mineralization intersected within 22VAN-013 through
to 22VAN-019 is characterized by disseminated, fine- to
coarse-grained awaruite (nickel-iron alloy) mineralization hosted
in serpentinized ophiolitic rocks and is very analogous to the
mineralization and geological setting at the Baptiste Deposit.
22VAN-013 was collared 1.3 km west of 21VAN-005 and drilled to
the north-northeast at minus 55 degrees. The hole encountered
bedrock at 18.7 meters (approximately 14
m vertical depth) and thereafter intersected 201.4 m of low-grade awaruite mineralization
(averaging 0.019% DTR Ni) to a downhole depth of 221 m.
22VAN-014 was collared 700 m north
of 22VAN-013 and drilled to the north-northeast at minus 55
degrees. The hole encountered bedrock at 2.3 m downhole and thereafter intersected
low-grade awaruite mineralization (averaging 0.038% DTR Ni) to a
downhole depth of 316.1 m.
22VAN-015 was collared 250 m
northwest of 21VAN-006 and drilled to the north-northeast minus 55
degrees. The hole encountered bedrock at 21.2 m downhole and thereafter intersected
277 m of medium-grade awaruite
mineralization (averaging 0.079% DTR Ni), to a downhole depth of
298.2 m. Mineralization in this
drillhole remains open at depth.
22VAN-016 was collared in the same location as 22VAN-015 and
drilled to the southwest at minus 55 degrees. The hole
encountered bedrock at 12 m downhole
and thereafter intersected 426.9 m of
high-grade awaruite mineralization (averaging 0.127% DTR Ni)
to a downhole depth of 439.3 m.
Mineralization in this drillhole remains open at depth.
22VAN-017 was collared 500 m west
along section from 22VAN-016 and drilled to the north-northeast at
minus 55 degrees. The hole encountered bedrock at
13.1 m downhole and thereafter
intersected 165.2 m of medium-grade
awaruite mineralization (averaging 0.087% DTR Ni) to a downhole
depth of 178.3 m.
22VAN-018 was collared in the same location as 22VAN-017 and
drilled to the south-southwest at minus 55 degrees. The hole
encountered bedrock at 16 m downhole
and thereafter intersected 100 m of
medium-grade awaruite mineralization (averaging 0.080% DTR Ni) to a
downhole depth of 116
m. Mineralization in this drillhole remains open
at depth.
22VAN-019 was collared 800 m
south-southeast of 22VAN-013 and drilled to the north-northeast at
minus 55 degrees. The hole encountered bedrock at
8.4 m downhole. This drillhole
intersected low-grade awaruite mineralization (averaging 0.035% DTR
Ni) and was terminated at 106 m.
Sampling and Analytical Method
HQ & NQ size drill
core were quartered and halved, respectively, on-site using a
diamond blade core cutting saw. Drill core was sampled
continuously downhole at nominal 4 m
intervals except for post mineralization dikes and non-mineralized
rock types as they historically have had zero grade. Samples
were bagged and sealed with tamper proof tags and shipped to
Activation Laboratories in Kamloops,
British Columbia, for sample preparation. Sample preparation
involved crushing the entire sample to 90% passing 2 mm, riffle
splitting 250 g, and pulverizing the split to 95% passing 74
microns. Analytical work was completed at Activation Laboratories
in Ancaster, Ontario and included
lithium metaborate/tetraborate fusion ICP and DTR Ni
analysis. DTR Ni analysis involved processing a 30 g split of
the pulp through a Davis tube magnetic separator as a slurry using
a constant flow rate of 400 millilitres per minute, a magnetic
field strength of 3,500 Gauss, and a tube angle of 45 degrees to
produce magnetic and non-magnetic fractions. The magnetic and
non-magnetic fractions were dried, weighed and the magnetic
fraction was analyzed by fusion X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF")
for multiple elements, including nickel, cobalt, iron and
chromium. The DTR Nickel grade was then calculated by
multiplying the XRF fusion nickel value by the weight of the
magnetic fraction and dividing by the total recorded feed
weight.
QA/QC procedures involved the analysis of field and prepared
duplicates, DTR replicates, insertion of certified reference
materials, and non-certified blanks to assess the accuracy and
precision of the Davis tube magnetic separation and XRF analysis
that are used to determine the DTR Nickel content. The Davis
Tube method is a bench-scale metallurgical test procedure which
provides an estimation of magnetically recoverable nickel and is
the global industry-standard geometallurgical test for magnetic
recovery for operations and exploration projects.
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 drillholes 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. In 2021,
the Company executed an inaugural drilling program at Van which
returned 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.
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.