FPX Nickel Produces Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate and Successfully Completes Pilot-Scale Refinery Testwork
Highlights
- Successful Pilot-Scale Testwork: Continuous pilot-scale testing of all leaching unit operations confirmed the refinery flowsheet and generated the expected low-impurity leach solution for downstream purification and crystallization testwork
- Flowsheet Optimization: Testwork has led to flowsheet improvement through the removal of unit operations in the leaching area that proved redundant during continuous, steady-state piloting
-
Production of Battery-Grade Nickel Sulphate: Bench-scale testing of solution purification and crystallization unit operations further demonstrate
FPX Nickel's ability to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate crystals from Baptiste's awaruite concentrate
"The results of our hydrometallurgy refinery pilot plant testwork confirm the technical advantages of awaruite nickel mineralization to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate, further demonstrating the opportunity to develop a more streamlined nickel supply chain entirely in
Background
As reported in the Company's news release dated
Building on the 2023 Hydromet Program, the 2024 Hydromet Program aimed to further demonstrate the viability of
Hydrometallurgical Refinery Pilot Plant
The 2024 Hydromet Program was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of continuous, pilot-scale processing of all unit operations in the leaching area as outlined in Figure 2. Phase 2 consisted of batch, bench-scale processing of all unit operations in the purification and crystallization area. A portion of leach solution produced during Phase 1 has been reserved for future continuous, pilot-scale processing of the purification and crystallization area, ensuring the final refinery strategy is supported by purification and crystallization requirements defined in collaboration with
Leaching Area
Continuous, pilot-scale leaching ran for five days and was fed with the high-grade (60% Ni) awaruite concentrate produced during the earlier mineral processing pilot plant. The flowsheet configuration and operating conditions were the same as the 2023 Hydromet Program, with pressure leaching conducted at a moderate temperature (150°C) and pressure (750 kPag). The key performance metrics established at the start of the pilot plant campaign were to obtain high overall nickel and cobalt leach extractions while generating a final leach solution with high nickel and low impurity concentrations.
These key performance metrics are summarized in Table 1, which also presents the basis of the previous economic study (see the Company's news release dated
In the atmospheric leach (which utilizes awaruite to neutralize and purify the pressure leach solution), excellent impurity removal was achieved, including the near-complete removal of iron, aluminum, chromium and copper. The final leach solution contained greater than 100 g/L nickel, which is very high by industry standards and will reduce the capital and operating costs for downstream purification and crystallization unit operations. The impurity elements of zinc, manganese, and calcium are all low due to the inherent low concentration of these impurities in Baptiste's awaruite concentrate.
Table 1 – Leaching area key performance metrics achieved during piloting
|
Pilot Plant |
Previous Study |
Overall Leach Extractions |
||
Nickel (%) |
99.3 |
99.3 |
Cobalt (%) |
97.9 |
99.5 |
Final Leach Solution Composition |
||
pH |
5.5 |
>4.5 |
Nickel (g/L) |
104 |
95 |
Cobalt (g/L) |
2.1 |
1.5 |
Magnesium (g/L) |
1.6 |
1.5 |
Iron (g/L) |
<0.003 |
<0.003 |
Aluminium (g/L) |
<0.003 |
<0.003 |
Chromium (g/L) |
<0.003 |
<0.003 |
Copper (g/L) |
<0.003 |
<0.05 |
Zinc (g/L) |
0.01 |
<0.05 |
Manganese (g/L) |
0.01 |
<0.05 |
Calcium (g/L) |
0.01 |
<0.05 |
In addition to the core leaching operations, the leaching area also includes two smaller circuits to manage build-up of certain trace elements, including copper removal and aluminum/chromium removal. The copper removal circuit, which removes copper by a cementation process, was successfully operated during piloting. Aluminum and chromium were both shown to deport with pressure leach residue, supporting the deletion of this slipstream removal circuit, thereby simplifying the overall leach flowsheet.
Additionally, solid-liquid separation characterization testing was completed on both pressure leach and atmospheric leach residues, with reasonable settling and filtration rates observed for both. These results will inform dewatering equipment sizing and specifications in the ongoing Awaruite Refinery Scoping Study.
Purification and Crystallization
A portion of the bulk solution generated from the leaching area pilot was processed in bench-scale batch testing through cobalt solvent extraction, nickel solvent extraction, and nickel sulphate crystallization. This purification scheme is simpler relative to that required to process other nickel intermediates such as MHP and MSP, with this simplicity made possible by the low impurities contained in, and the neutralization properties of, the awaruite concentrate.
In order to validate the new purification flowsheet developed during Refinery Value Engineering studies (see the Company's news release dated
Table 2 – Baptiste Nickel Sulphate Crystal Quality vs. Target Specification
Element |
Units |
Nickel Sulphate Crystals |
|
Baptiste Testwork |
Target Specification1 |
||
Nickel |
wt% |
>22 |
>22 |
Aluminum |
ppm |
<1 |
<5 |
Arsenic |
ppm |
<1 |
<2 |
Calcium |
ppm |
<1 |
<5 |
Cadmium |
ppm |
<1 |
<1 |
Cobalt |
ppm |
1 |
<50 |
Chromium |
ppm |
<1 |
<3 |
Copper |
ppm |
<1 |
<3 |
Iron |
ppm |
<1 |
<3 |
Potassium |
ppm |
<1 |
<10 |
Magnesium |
ppm |
3 |
<5 |
Manganese |
ppm |
<1 |
<5 |
Sodium |
ppm |
<10 |
<20 |
Lead |
ppm |
<1 |
<2 |
Silicon |
ppm |
<5 |
<10 |
Zinc |
ppm |
3 |
<5 |
Note 1: Based on review of industrially available products and battery producers' requirements |
Path Forward
With the completion of the hydrometallurgical testwork reported herein, the Company has completed all testing associated with the CMRDD funding provided by NRCan. Refinery testing results are being incorporated into the ongoing Awaruite Refinery Scoping Study, the results of which will be available in the first quarter of 2025.
Qualified Person
The metallurgical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101: Standards of Disclosures for Minerals Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI 43-101"). Testwork was supervised, reviewed, and verified by
About the
The
The Baptiste deposit is located within the territories, keyohs, and consultative boundaries of the Tl'azt'en Nation, Binche Whut'enne, Yekooche First Nation, and
About
On behalf of
"Martin Turenne"
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
SOURCE