FPX Nickel confirms results from geotechnical drilling at Baptiste Nickel Project, British Columbia
FPX Nickel Corp. [TSX-V: FPX, OTCQX: FPOCF] reported assay results from select drill holes completed during its 2025 engineering field investigation program at the Baptiste Nickel Project in central British Columbia.
As previously announced, the 2025 engineering field investigation program completed approximately 1,935 metres of geotechnical, hydrogeological and condemnation drilling, with the majority of the meterage focused within the project’s open pit footprint. Results include significant Davis Tube Recoverable (DTR) nickel values in areas within and beyond the current open pit shell and generally confirm or exceed the grades predicted by the current Baptiste mineral resource estimate (MRE).
Data obtained from the 2025 field program provides valuable input for developing and refining the pit geotechnical and hydrogeological models. Results indicate that rock mass structural orientations are generally consistent with the regional structural features, and that previously defined structural domains within the pit remain valid.
“The 2025 field program achieved all objectives in continuing to build a robust dataset for Baptiste, supporting both the recently launched environmental assessment process and the planned completion of a feasibility study for the project,” said Martin Turenne, FPX’s President and CEO. “We are particularly pleased by the encouraging assay results that broadly confirm grades predicted by the project’s current mineral resource estimate and suggest the potential to expand the footprint of mineralization in the next stages of drilling and resource modelling.”
Three drill holes completed for geotechnical characterization purposes during the 2025 engineering field investigation program were secondarily sampled and analyzed for DTR nickel. Holes were oriented to intersect the planned open pit walls and therefore include intervals both within and exterior to the planned open pit.
Hole 25GM-01, drilled to the southeastern portion of the planned open pit wall, intersected awaruite nickel mineralization hosted by serpentinized ultramafic rocks with grades locally exceeding those estimated in the current MRE block model. The hole returned 290.65 metres at 0.134% DTR nickel including a higher-grade interval within the current open pit shell of 194.30 metres at 0.142% DTR nickel.
Hole 25GM-02, drilled toward the northeastern portion of the planned open pit wall, intersected awaruite nickel mineralization consistent with grades predicted by the current MRE block model. 345.35 metres at 0.117% DTR nickel including a higher-grade interval of 115.70 metres at 0.128% DTR nickel were returned.
Hole 25GM-03 was drilled toward the southwestern portion of the planned open pit wall, targeting the unmineralized footwall for geotechnical engineering purposes. This hole intersected awaruite nickel mineralization within ultramafic rocks with grades and thicknesses consistent with those estimated in the current MRE block model, with 66.00 m at 0.103% DTR nickel including 44.00 m at 0.124% DTR nickel.
The company’s Baptiste Nickel Project represents a large-scale greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a sulphur-free, nickel-iron mineral called awaruite (Ni3Fe) hosted in an ultramafic/ophiolite complex. The absence of sulphur and our ability to connect to the BC Hydro grid means that Baptiste has the potential to be one of the lowest carbon-intensive nickel producers in the world and will produce a very high-grade product that does not require any intermediate smelting or complex refining.
The Baptiste mineral claims cover an area of 453 km2 west of Middle River and north of Trembleur Lake in central British Columbia. In addition to the Baptiste Deposit itself, awaruite mineralization has been confirmed through drilling at several target areas within the same claims package, most notably at the Van Target which is located 6 km north of the Baptiste Deposit. Since 2010, approximately US$55 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Baptiste.
In 2024, the Province of British Columbia identified the Baptiste Nickel Project as the first project to be included in the province’s new Critical Minerals Office (CMO) concierge service initiative, a provincial strategy action to enable the prioritization of critical minerals projects in B.C. The CMO initiative is providing an excellent structure to proactively identify and address issues and opportunities ahead of the Project’s entry into the environmental assessment process.
FPX Nickel is focused on the exploration and development of the Baptiste Nickel Project and other occurrences of the same unique style of naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy mineralization known as awaruite.