FPX Nickel Corp (TSX-V:FPX) said it has appointed Kyle Marte, who has 15 years of industry experience in mineral processing and hydrometallurgy. as its Principal Metallurgist.
"We are excited to welcome Kyle to our growing team and look forward to leveraging his in-depth understanding of concentrator and hydrometallurgical processes in both base and battery metals," Andrew Osterloh, FPX Nickel's vice-president, Projects, said in a statement.
"After spending the early part of his career focused in copper, Kyle has since focused on projects in the battery metal sphere, acting as a lead process engineer for some of the world's largest mining companies from concept studies through to detailed design. As we continue the development of an optimized flowsheet for our flagship Baptiste project, Kyle will play a critical role in advancing the opportunity for FPX to be a leading producer of low-cost, low-carbon nickel sulphate for electric vehicle batteries,” he added.
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In his role as Senior Process Engineer for Fluor, Marte led the metallurgical development for several base and battery metal projects for clients including, South32, Albermarle and Freeport McMoran. A member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, Marte holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Metals and Materials Engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Marte will lead the advancement of the metallurgical understanding of FPX's projects, including the PEA-stage Baptiste Nickel Project in central British Columbia, the company added.
One of 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 82 holes and over 34,000 metrers of drilling completed.
FPX Nickel 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.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com