FPX Nickel Completes Pilot-Scale Testwork, Produces Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate
FPX Nickel has successfully completed pilot-scale hydrometallurgical refinery testwork, producing battery-grade nickel sulphate from its Baptiste Nickel Project. This development represents a significant step forward in demonstrating the technical feasibility of refining awaruite concentrate at the Baptiste site. The testwork campaign was partially funded by a grant from Natural Resources Canada under the Government of Canada's Critical Minerals Research, Development, and Demonstration (CMRDD) program, aimed at advancing the commercial readiness of processing technologies crucial for Canada's electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain.
The continuous pilot-scale testwork verified the refinery's flowsheet and generated a low-impurity leach solution for further purification and crystallization processes. Additionally, improvements were made to the process flowsheet by removing redundant unit operations in the leaching phase, optimizing efficiency during steady-state piloting.
This milestone builds upon FPX Nickel's successful 2023 bench-scale hydrometallurgy testwork. The pilot plant's achievements include producing battery-grade nickel sulphate crystals from awaruite concentrate, reinforcing the viability of Baptiste's nickel production capabilities. The results are being incorporated into an Awaruite Refinery Scoping Study that will assess capital costs, operational expenses, and overall economics. This study is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
Andrew Osterloh, Senior Vice-President of Projects & Operations at FPX Nickel, highlighted the potential for Baptiste to significantly enhance Canada's nickel production without adding pressure on existing smelting or refinery capacities. "Baptiste would represent an almost fifty percent increase to Canada's current annual nickel production, pioneering a uniquely low-cost, low-carbon link between mining and EV battery production," he stated.
The pilot-scale test program, known as the 2024 Hydromet Program, follows earlier successes from bench-scale testwork in 2023. Conducted by Sherritt Technologies Ltd., the 2024 program was designed to validate FPX Nickel's hydrometallurgical refinery flowsheet under continuous operating conditions. It also successfully demonstrated an ammonia-based purification process, adding further technical confidence to Baptiste's future production potential.
