FPX names management appointees to support B.C. nickel development

FPX Nickel Corp. [TSXV-FPX] has announced management appointments to support the advancement of the company’s flagship Baptiste nickel project in central British Columbia.

Nigel Fisher has been named Director, Environment and Jarett Lalonde is taking the role of Director, Government & Public Affairs for the company. Lalonde previously served as Chief of Staff to the Attorney General & Minister of Justice for the province of British Columbia, and as a Policy Advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources Canada. He will lead the company’s public communications and government relations strategies.

Fisher has held progressively senior roles with New Gold Inc. (NGD-TSX, NYSE American), Teck Resources Ltd.’s (TECK.B-TSX, TECK.A-TSX, TECK-NYSE), Woodfibre LNG, and most recently Skeena Resources Ltd. [SKE-TSXV, SKE-NYSE, RXFB-FRA] as director of Environment and Regulatory Affairs. In his prior roles, he successfully obtained multiple regulatory approvals for large-scale resource projects while maintaining compliance with existing and changing legislation.

FPX shares were unchanged at 30 cents on Monday. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 52 cents and 24.5 cents.

“Mr. Fisher has been instrumental in permitting and advancing many of British Columbia’s largest mines, including most recently, the Blackwater and Eskay Creek mines, and will lead our Environmental Permitting and Assessment for the Baptiste Project,’’ said Tim Bekhuys, Senior Vice-President, Sustainability and External Relations at FPX. “We are excited to grow the team with Nigel and Jarett.’’

Back in April, 2024, FPX Nickel said it has successfully completed a large-scale mineral processing pilot testing campaign for the Baptiste project.

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.

The company said the pilot testing campaign marked the first significant component of the ongoing feasibility study (FS) metallurgical testwork campaign. “Results from this testwork confirm the 2023 preliminary feasibility (PFS) study basis, thereby validating FPX’s processing strategy, flowsheet, and key metallurgical criteria, including estimated recoveries,’’ the company said.

The pilot testing campaign was funded in part by a $725,000 grant from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), under the Government of Canada’s Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program, which is advancing the commercial readiness of processing technologies that will support the development of Canada’s EV battery material supply chain.

The company notes that unlike conventional nickel mineral concentrates which have a high sulphur content, Baptiste’s awaruite concentrate is nearly sulphur-free and low in deleterious elements, meaning it can bypass intermediate smelting and be used directly in stainless steel fabrication.

Alternatively, the Baptiste awaruite concentrate is also an ideal feedstock for the production of high-purity, battery grade nickel sulphate for the electric vehicle supply chain. The company said its PFS metallurgical testing programs have well demonstrated this flexibility, and the FS metallurgical testing program is expected to confirm these previous findings at an even larger scale.