FPX Nickel Corp. Establishes Technical Advisory Committee
Including the Appointments of Former Newmont Board Member Clem Pelletier and Placer Dome Senior Executive Martyn CreaneyVANCOUVER, April 12, 2021 - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) ("FPX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the creation of a Technical Advisory Committee ("TAC") to assist and provide guidance to the FPX management team regarding all aspects of exploration and development of the Company's Baptiste Nickel Project ("Baptiste" or the "Project") in central British Columbia. The TAC is comprised of five senior mining professionals who will review project materials and meet with FPX management on a monthly basis to address risks and opportunities pertaining to the development of Baptiste. The founding members of the TAC are Clem Pelletier, Martyn Creaney, Rob Pease, Peter Marshall, and Paul Hosford (see biographies below).
"We are fortunate to have assembled such a highly-decorated team of mining specialists to form our TAC," commented Dr. Peter Bradshaw, FPX's Chairman. "In particular, the additions of Clem Pelletier and Martyn Creaney greatly expand the Company's depth of expertise in the development, permitting and construction of large-scale projects in British Columbia, with our TAC members having variously played key roles in B.C. projects including Mt. Milligan, Galore Creek, Blackwater, KSM, and Brucejack. We look forward to drawing on the TAC's deep experience and capabilities to assist in the continued advancement of Baptiste."
Clem Pelletier
Clem Pelletier is a process chemist/metallurgist by training with over 50 years of experience in the mining industry and resource-related environmental consulting. Mr. Pelletier was the founder of the Rescan Group (now part of ERM), a globally recognized, industry-leading mineral processing engineering and environmental consulting firm. He has managed large environmental impact studies and permitting for major projects such as the KSM Project, the Jansen Potash Project, Goro Nickel, the Voisey's Bay Nickel Project, Escondida, the Ekati Diamond Mine and many others. Mr. Pelletier is a former Director of Goldcorp and Newmont Corporation, currently serves on the board of Seabridge Gold, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Martyn Creaney
Martyn Creaney is a civil engineer with over 40 years of construction and project management experience. Mr. Creaney has been actively involved in the development of mining projects in Australia, Asia and the Americas, including 25 years with Placer Dome, where he was Vice President, Design & Construction, overseeing all design and construction activities for the company. Over the past 15 years, he has provided senior advisory services to various companies, including as OceanaGold's Senior Project Advisor for the development of the Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina and as independent Project Reviewer for Pretium's Brucejack Gold Mine in British Columbia.
Rob Pease
Rob Pease, P. Geo., serves on the board of FPX Nickel, Liberty Gold, and Pure Gold Mining. Rob founded Terrane Metals, which developed the Mt. Milligan copper-gold project, located in central British Columbia, through final feasibility and the commencement of project construction, before Terrane's acquisition by Thompson Creek Metals Company for $650 million in 2010. Rob is a former Director and Strategic Advisor to Richfield Ventures, which advanced the Blackwater gold project in central British Columbia., until the acquisition of Richfield by New Gold for $500 million in 2011. Mr. Pease is a Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada and holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo.
Peter Marshall
Peter Marshall, P. Eng., serves on the board of FPX Nickel and previously was the Vice-President of Project Development for New Gold, where he led the completion of the feasibility study for the Blackwater gold project in central British Columbia. Prior to joining New Gold, Peter was the Senior Vice President of Project Development for Terrane Metals and was responsible for managing the technical development of the Mt. Milligan copper-gold project, from the preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") through to feasibility before the acquisition of Terrane by Thompson Creek in 2010. Mr. Marshall is a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Paul Hosford
Paul Hosford is a senior mining professional with over 30 years of experience in metallurgy, operations, project development and commissioning. Paul has served in senior metallurgical, project development, and project manager roles for Anglo American, Barrick Gold and New Gold. He served as the VP Engineering and Project Manager for Terrane's Mt. Milligan copper-gold project through the development phase and into project design and construction. Mr. Hosford is a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.
Stock Option Grant
The Company further announces that a total of 3,100,000 stock options have been granted to the Company's directors, officers, advisors and employees. The stock options have an exercise price of $0.70 per share and will expire on April 9, 2026.
About the Decar Nickel District
The Company's Decar Nickel District claims cover 245 square kilometres of the Mount Sidney Williams ultramafic/ophiolite complex, 90 km northwest of Fort St. James in central British Columbia. The District is a two-hour drive from Fort St. James on a high-speed logging road.
Decar hosts a greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite, which is amenable to bulk-tonnage, open-pit mining. Awaruite mineralization has been identified in four target areas within this ophiolite complex, being the Baptiste Deposit, the B target, the Sid target and Van target, as confirmed by drilling in the first three plus petrographic examination, electron probe analyses and outcrop sampling on all four. Since 2010, approximately US $24 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Decar.
Of the 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 main focus of diamond drilling since 2010, with a total of 82 holes and over 31,000 metres of drilling completed. The Sid target was tested with two holes in 2010 and the B target had a single hole drilled into it in 2011; all three holes intersected nickel-iron alloy mineralization over wide intervals with DTR nickel grades comparable to the Baptiste Deposit. The Van target was not drill-tested at that time as rock exposure was very poor prior to logging activity by forestry companies.
As reported in the current NI 43-101 resource estimate, having an effective date of September 9, 2020, the Baptiste Deposit contains 1.996 billion tonnes of indicated resources at an average grade of 0.122% DTR nickel, containing to 2.4 million tonnes of nickel, plus 593 million tonnes of inferred resources with an average grade of 0.114% DTR nickel, containing 0.7 million tonnes of nickel, both reported at a cut-off grade of 0.06% DTR nickel. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
About FPX Nickel Corp.
FPX Nickel Corp. 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.
On behalf of FPX Nickel Corp.
"Martin Turenne"
Martin Turenne, President, CEO and Director
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is considered "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Actual results could differ from those currently projected. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE FPX Nickel Corp.
Contact
please view the Company's website at www.fpxnickel.com or contact Martin Turenne, President and CEO, at (604) 681-8600 or ceo@fpxnickel.com