FPX forms nickel exploration alliance with JOGMEC

FPX Nickel Corp. [TSXV-FPX] said Monday it has formed a global generative exploration alliance with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

It said the purpose of the alliance, which will be solely financed by JOGMEC, is to carry out worldwide mineral exploration activities for the identification and acquisition of high-quality properties which are prospective for the same style of awaruite nickel mineralization as contained at the company’s flagship Baptiste nickel project in central British Columbia.

Baptiste is located in the Decar Nickel District, a greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a naturally-occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite. Covering 245 square kilometres, it represents a promising target for bulk tonnage, open pit mining, the company has said.

During the first phase of the Generative Alliance, JOGMEC, will fund at 100%, up to $650,000 per year for a minimum of two years. Each of the parties will appoint two representatives to a management committee to oversee exploration activities. FPX will act as the operator over the initial two-year term, earning a fee equal to 10% of the alliance expenditures.

The alliance will benefit from the extensive global database developed by FPX between 2010 and 2014, when the company performed reconnaissance exploration activities for awaruite nickel targets in over a dozen countries across four continents.

FPX Nickel shares advanced on the news, rising 2.2% or $0.01 to 46.5 cents in light trading volume. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 85 cents and 34.5 cents.

FPX recently announced an updated resource estimate for the  deposit, which the company said will serve as the basis for an upcoming feasibility study to be completed by the second half of 2023.

The indicated resource at Baptiste is pegged at 1.8 billion tonnes at 0.129% nickel, 0.0035% cobalt and 2.40% iron (2.435 million tonnes of contained nickel). On top of that is an inferred resource of 339 million tonnes at 0.131% nickel, 0.0037% cobalt and 2.55% iron (444,000 tonnes of contained nickel).

The company said the estimate is based on a new geological modelling approach and newly improved dike model, all of which contribute to significantly improved Davis Tube recoverable (DTR) nickel grades.

Last year, FPX launched an internal scoping study to further evaluate the option to produce nickel sulphate for the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain from the high-grade nickel concentrate produced by the Baptiste deposit.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) technical report for the Baptiste project has indicated that Baptiste has the potential to be a significant global nickel operation, with a multi-generational operating life and average annual production of 99 million pounds of contained nickel.

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