A geologist examines core samples in the core shack at the Baptiste Nickel Mine, located approximately 90 km northwest of Fort St. James, British Columbia, Canada.
Clean B.C. power and a favourable deposit key to proposed FPX low-carbon nickel project
As the only country in the Americas with all the minerals needed to manufacture electric vehicle (EV) batteries – including nickel, cobalt, graphite, and lithium – Canada has the potential to become a major producer of high-quality minerals for lithium-ion batteries in EVs. Plans are in the works for a major nickel mine in B.C. that will help accelerate North America's battery material supply chain.
FPX Nickel Corp, the company behind a proposed Baptiste Nickel Project in central B.C., says the advantages of mining awaruite – a low-suplhur nickel-iron mineral that doesn't require downstream smelting – will combine with renewable BC Hydro power to make the Baptiste mine one of the lowest-carbon nickel producers in the world.
"Canada's looking to build a battery material supply chain while also servicing the well established stainless steel supply chain," says Andrew Osterloh, senior VP of projects and operations for the Vancouver-based nickel mining company FPX. "To do this, it's important that we find ways to increase nickel production that are more carbon friendly and don't require intensive downstream processing. Baptiste can do both, producing a product so high grade and clean that we can actually bypass smelting entirely and go directly into final refining for EV battery products."
Both the Government of B.C. and BC Hydro have stepped in with support for the proposed project, which FPX hopes will begin production as early as 2031 and will operate for 29 years. On September 3, FPX announced that the Government of B.C. has identified the Baptiste project as part of their new Critical Minerals Office concierge service initiative, set up to prioritize critical minerals projects in B.C.
BC Hydro providing support to FPX towards electrical grid connection
In 2023, 90% of North America's approximately 176,000 tonnes of annual nickel production came from Canada, which produced about 4.5% of the world's supply. All of that came from sulfide nickel deposits in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and contributed to more than $7.5 billion in exports of nickel and nickel-based products from Canada in 2022.
According to FPX, if Baptiste can deliver on its projected 60,000 tonnes of annual production, it would be one of the 10 largest nickel producers in the world. It must first go through provincial and federal environmental assessments, due to begin later in 2025.
FPX estimates the project will generate about 2,600 full-time jobs during construction that could begin in 2029, and an average of 875 full-time jobs once the mine is operating. As per an economic study by Mansfield Consulting, Baptiste will add about $45 billion to Canada's GDP during its construction and operating life, including almost $16 billion in total direct, indirect, and induced tax revenues.
"The mining industry is fortunate to be able to provide stable, high-paying jobs," says Osterloh. "We're lucky in British Columbia to have a mature mining industry that includes large numbers of skilled workers, high-quality contractors and well-established vendors, and we look to leverage this as much as possible."
The role of awaruite, clean power, and electric trolley-assist trucks
A 2023 FPX preliminary feasibility study demonstrated the potential for Baptiste to deliver a high-margin, low-carbon nickel product at an average of about 60,000 tonnes per year of nickel over a 29-year mine life. Central to the project's viability is the discovery of an advantageous source of nickel, found in a mineral called awaruite, and present in a large deposit about 90 km northwest of Fort St. James.
Nickel is usually mined from two types of deposits: sulphide and laterite. Extracting nickel from sulphide deposits requires a lot of extra processing, like smelting and refining, while laterite deposits need energy-heavy methods. Awaruite, however, is easier to process because it has low sulphur and can be concentrated right at the mine without needing downstream smelting.
Thanks to using equipment like electric trolley-assist haul trucks which will cut down diesel use, FPX predicts that their mine will produce just 1.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent for every tonne of nickel, which is in the lowest 10% for nickel producers globally. Most nickel mines produce over 30 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of nickel, which is more than 20 times higher than Baptiste.
"We can use a relatively simple process to produce a very high quality product, and do it with low carbon energy here in British Columbia," says Osterloh. "That's a massive step forward."
These advantages, Osterloh adds, will help the Baptiste mine supply high-grade nickel directly to industries like stainless steel or EV batteries, which has helped attract major investments.
Nickel's role in the production of lithium-ion EV batteries
Some estimates project global nickel demand to increase by 50% by 2030, largely due to its importance in electric vehicle batteries.
Nickel is crucial in the production of batteries for EVs, especially in lithium-ion batteries, which are the most common type used in EVs today. Nickel-based chemistries, such as nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) and nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA), are widely used because nickel provides several key benefits including:
- Higher energy density: Batteries relying on nickel can store more energy and provide a longer driving range for EVs.
- Reduced cobalt content: Another essential material in battery production, cobalt is more expensive than nickel and often associated with ethical and supply chain concerns. Increasing the nickel content in battery chemistries helps reduce reliance on cobalt, leading to more sustainable and cost-effective batteries.
- Cost-effectiveness: Generally less expensive than cobalt, nickel used in higher concentrations can reduce the overall cost of battery production.
Canada's federal and provincial governments are also helping fund EV battery production projects in Canada, including a JV battery factory between Stellantis NV and LG Energy Solution EV in Windsor, Ont. and a Volkswagen EV battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont.