FPX Nickel Corp (TSX-V:FPX) has revealed the results of new testing that it said demonstrates the potential for enhanced carbon capture and storage in tailings at its Baptiste project in the Decar nickel district in central British Columbia.
The tests demonstrate the ability of these representative tailings to sequester CO2 into a permanent mineralized form.
Vancouver-based FPX said that the results highlight the potential for the project to become the nickel industry's first carbon-neutral or carbon-negative operation.
READ: FPX Nickel releases results of 2021 Baptiste infill drilling program; reports third-highest grading interval ever intersected at deposit
Laboratory tests were conducted by researchers from the University of British Columbia and funded by FPX and the government of Canada.
The tests were conducted on tailings representative of different operating scenarios at Baptiste, according to a release.
FPX said injection experiments were prepared by placing the three tailings samples in vertical pipes, which were injected with simulated flue gas containing 10% CO2 at a rate of 4 ml per minute over 14 days. The experiments were conducted on Baptiste pilot plant tailings material, which was generated from drill core.
Key findings included consistent rates of carbon mineralization in all tests, ranging from 7.3 to 8.4 grams of CO2 sequestered for each kilogram of the three tailings samples, with a minimum of 70% and a maximum of 99% of the brucite present in the Baptiste tailings consumed in the mineralization reaction.
Whole tailings had the highest carbon mineralization and cyclone overflow the lowest, indicating the significance of particle size on the circulation of CO2 to the surface of brucite grains, the company said.
The tests also revealed significant rates of carbon mineralization on a continuous basis in all tests, with rates typically peaking on the first day and declining over the course of the test.
Over 60% of the CO2 was mineralized in the first 3.5 days based on measurements of CO2 concentrations at the inlet and the outlet, FPX added.
"These new results were achieved using representative tailings material generated from the 2021 metallurgical testing pilot plant program, highlighting our interest in moving beyond idealized experimental conditions to advance the scientific understanding of carbon mineralization in a practical, real-world context,” FPX CEO Martin Turenne said in a statement.
“With further work required to estimate the likely quantum of carbon sequestration in an operational setting, we continue to advance toward our objective of developing Baptiste as the nickel industry's first carbon-neutral or carbon-negative operation."
FPX is focused on the exploration and development of the Decar nickel district, and other occurrences of the same unique style of naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy mineralization known as awaruite.
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