The Baptiste nickel project is located in central British Columbia and is being developed by FPXNickel, a nickel mining company based in Vancouver, Canada. It is expected to be a highly profitable, long-life, large-scale, low-carbon mine with unparalleled flexibility to produce both high-grade ferric nickel (60% nickel) for direct use in the stainless steel industry, and further into battery-grade nickel sulfate, cobalt precipitate and copper concentrate products for use in the battery material supply chain.
The Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) for the project was completed in September 2023. It is estimated that the initial capital to develop the project is $2.18 billion, with an expected mining life of 29 years.
In September 2023, FPXNickel partnered with the Japan Organization for Metalsand Energy Security and PrimePlanetEnergy&Solutions, a joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic, signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding relating to the Baptiste nickel mine project. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will collaborate, share technical information and expertise, and explore potential strategic arrangements and business structures.
The main product of the Baptiste nickel project is iron-nickel ore, which accounts for approximately 93% of total nickel production. The rest is a by-product of mixed hydroxide precipitate.
Project location
The Baptiste Nickel mine project is located in the Nechako region of central British Columbia, about 90 kilometres northwest of FortSt.James, within FPXNickel's Decar mineral ownership. The Decar mineral deposit covers an area of 247 square kilometers and is mainly composed of carboniferous to Jurassic rocks.
As of September 2023, the Baptiste nickel project has estimated proven and probable reserves of 1.48 tonnes of Davis tubemagnetic recovered nickel at a grade of 0.13%.
Mining method
The Baptiste nickel project will be developed into a large open pit mine with truck and forklift operations. The project is developed in two phases, with the first phase covering the first nine years of operation and a daily ore processing capacity of 108 kilotons; The second phase is planned to begin in the tenth year of operation, when the daily processing capacity will be expanded to 162 kilotons.
Mining will be carried out in stages on a 10-meter-high double-deck platform. The first phase starts from the starting pit on the southeast side of the deposit, the second phase starts from the northwest of the starting pit, the third phase will begin in the tenth year, coincining with the expansion of the beneficiation and advancing to the north, the fourth phase will advance to the south, and the subsequent mining phase will advance further to the northeast and northwest pit walls and finally to the northeast pit walls. The main mining fleet will consist of bulldozers, graders, wheel loaders and excavators, providing flexibility to handle all aspects of mining operations. The loading operation will be carried out by a 42 cubic metre electro-hydraulic shovel and a 19 cubic metre front-end loader.
Contractor involved
The preliminary feasibility study was prepared by AusencoEngineering, Canada, for the project's process plant and site infrastructure design, cost estimation and economic analysis of the project. KnightPiesold, a global consulting firm, is responsible for the design and cost estimation of the tailings and water management facility. OnsiteEngineering is an engineering and geoscience company responsible for the design of off-site road systems. Carisbrooke was responsible for the design and cost estimation of the off-site power infrastructure. NextMineConsulting is responsible for geological modeling and resource estimation.
