FPX Nickel Corp (TSX-V:FPX) said it has kicked off an internal scoping study at its Baptiste project, assessing the potential to produce a nickel product for the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market, using a process, which will cost less and be more environmentally-friendly compared to other types of projects.
The study on the British Columbia property will include results from previous leaching testwork on the nickel concentrate generated from the property's ore, which confirmed Baptiste's potential to be a significant supplier of high-purity feedstock.
It will focus on the fact that mineralization at Baptiste is mainly present in what is called awaruite (Ni3Fe), a nickel-iron alloy, which has a high nickel tenor (75%) and allows for an "extremely high-grade" flotation concentrate.
"Baptiste's awaruite nickel mineralization has clear technical advantages over sulphide and laterite ores for producing nickel sulphate, owing to the extremely high nickel content and low levels of impurities in the nickel concentrate produced in previous metallurgical test programs," FPX's CEO Martin Turenne told investors in a statement.
READ: FPX Nickel appoints Erin Wilson as its principal geologist
"Our scoping work will evaluate the potential for the production of low-carbon, battery-grade nickel sulphate from awaruite mineralization in a simple three-stage process encompassing beneficiation, pressure leaching, and solvent extraction. This three-stage processing route has the potential to be more efficient and entail lower cost and carbon emissions than the typically more complex processes required to convert sulphide and laterite ores into nickel sulphate," he added.
Baptiste's awaruite nickel mineralization has "significant" advantages over sulphide and laterite ores for producing nickel sulphate, noted the company, including that the high-grade concentrate does not need smelting prior to downstream hydrometallurgical processing into nickel sulphate, as with treating conventional nickel sulphide concentrates.
In addition, the leaching of Baptiste's high-grade concentrate feedstock requires a tangibly smaller pressure leaching footprint than the high-pressure acid-leach (HPAL) process used in nickel laterite operations, it added.
"The low levels of impurities (notably iron) in the pregnant leach solution suggest that downstream refinement into sulphate products would require a relatively simple process with favourable operating parameters," said FPX.
"Confirmation of these downstream processing steps is subject to future testing, including testwork currently being conducted by FPX, the results of which are anticipated in the third quarter of 2022," it added.
The scoping study, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022, will evaluate options for producing nickel sulphate in either crystal form or solution form, including an assessment of the various technical, economic and strategic considerations of each alternative.
These two options are expected to generate high-value alternatives for using Baptiste concentrate in the EV battery supply chain, both in North America and abroad.
FPX is advancing its Decar Nickel District claims, which cover 245 square kilometres (sq km) and lie 90 km northwest of Fort St. James in central BC.
Decar hosts a greenfield discovery of naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite (Ni3Fe), which is amenable to bulk-tonnage, open-pit mining. Awaruite has been identified in four target areas within this ophiolite complex, namely the Baptiste deposit, and the B, Sid and Van targets
Of the four, 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 34,000 meters (m) of drilling completed.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com