FPX Nickel raises $9m for Baptiste awaruite project development in British Columbia

The Baptiste zone of the Decar nickel district in B.C. Credit: FPX Nickel

FPX Nickel (TSXV: FPX) will issue 24 million common shares at C$0.50 each to an unnamed “strategic investor” to raise C$12 million ($8.8m) for its Decar nickel project northwest of Prince George, British Columbia. The investor will then own approximately 9.95% of the outstand and issued FPX shares.

The company will use the proceeds of the offering primarily to complete a prefeasibility study.

Concurrently with the share offering, FPX and the investor have entered into an investor rights agreement that provides the investor with certain rights in the event it maintains minimum ownership thresholds in the company, including participation in future equity offerings.

FPX is developing the Baptiste nickel-iron deposit in the Decar nickel district. Of particular interest is the naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite, which also contains little or no sulphides. The alloy has been identified in four target areas, including (besides Baptiste) the B, Sid and Van occurrences. The ore is amenable to conventional mining and processing, creating a 63% nickel concentrate.

The Decar project may be one of the lowest-carbon density nickel projects in the industry. Nickel is to be produced without acid leaching, and the host rock is not acid-generating.

FPX is also making plans to sequester carbon dioxide in the mine tailings, a process that would further reduce the carbon footprint of the project.