The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - September 16, 2024
FPX Nickel is studying the potential of building a nickel refinery at its Baptiste project about 220 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Awaruite is a nickel-iron mineral that offers environmental and cost advantages for producing nickel for steelmaking and batteries.
FPX Nickel Corp. is investigating the potential of building a refinery that could make British Columbia a major source of low-carbon nickel needed for stainless steel and lithium-ion batteries.
Last year, the company published results from a pre-feasibility study that outlined the economic and engineering parameters for a mine at its Baptiste project about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Fort St. James, B.C. that would produce an average of 59,100 metric tons (130 million pounds) of nickel per year over an initial 29 years of mining.
Awaruite is a nickel-iron mineral that offers environmental and cost advantages for producing nickel for steelmaking and batteries.
The more than 3.8 million metric tons (8.44 billion lb) of nickel outlined so far at Baptiste is hosted in a unique mineral known as awaruite, a natural nickel-iron alloy. This makes the nickel easier to recover and offers the potential for a high-quality concentrate that does not require smelting or high-pressure acid leaching. This means the nickel can be produced with less energy and a smaller carbon footprint than if the metal was produced from sulfide or laterite ores.
The clean hydroelectricity fed into the grid in B.C. provides further opportunities to lower the carbon footprint of nickel mined and refined in the westernmost Canadian province. The environmental and other advantages offered by Baptiste have attracted international interest and investments in the nickel project.
FPX says the unique mineralization at Baptiste offers the flexibility to produce a high-grade nickel concentrate for either direct feed into the stainless-steel sector, or for further refining into battery-grade nickel and cobalt products for the electric vehicle battery supply chain
"Awaruite presents an unparalleled opportunity to significantly expand North America's battery material supply chain, all without the need to either displace or add smelting capacity," said FPX Nickel Senior Vice President of Projects and Operations Andrew Osterloh.
Recent value engineering studies highlight the strategic opportunity to develop a battery metals refinery alongside its Baptiste mine, capable of producing 32,000 metric tons of nickel in nickel sulfate per year, which is enough battery-grade nickel for approximately 450,000 sedan-sized electric vehicles annually.
Pilot-scale testing of the proposed nickel refinery flowsheet, which is being supported by funding from the Canadian government, is well-progressed, and results are expected by October. This will be followed by a standalone scoping study that includes a detailed technical and economic analysis of the nickel refinery early in 2025.
"Our refinery Value Engineering studies have substantially improved the business case and reduced the risk profile for a standalone refinery to convert awaruite concentrate into battery-grade nickel sulphate," said Osterloh. "(W)e are excited at the new value basis for our large-scale, long-life, high margin, and low-carbon project."
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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