VANCOUVER, BC, May 7, 2026 /CNW/ - FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) (OTCQX: FPOCF) ("FPX" or the "Company") announces the implementation of succession planning within its Sustainability team to support the continued advancement of the Baptiste Nickel Project ("Baptiste" or "the Project"), effective June 1, 2026.
Highlights
- Planned retirement of Tim Bekhuys, Senior Vice President, Sustainability & External Relations, who will continue to support the Company in a strategic and technical capacity as a Senior Advisor
- Promotion of Nigel Fisher to Vice President, Sustainability & External Relations, who has previously served in senior environmental roles for the Company since 2024
- Expansion of the Company's environmental and permitting capabilities with the appointment of Julia Tarnowski, P. Eng. as the Company's new Director, Environment
"Having successfully achieved the first milestones within the environmental assessment ("EA") process for Baptiste, FPX is well positioned to implement these steps in keeping with our managerial succession strategy," stated Martin Turenne, FPX's President & CEO.
"We congratulate Tim on his retirement and thank him for his contributions to FPX since 2023, which have been foundational to shaping our approach to responsible project development," continued Mr. Turenne. "Tim's expertise in environmental management and his ability to build respectful relationships with Indigenous partners have significantly advanced our strategic goals. We are grateful that he will continue to provide technical and strategic insights to FPX as a Senior Advisor for the remainder of 2026.
"We're pleased to appoint Nigel to his new role as VP, Sustainability & External Relations, where he will lead all aspects of the Company's permitting, engagement and sustainability efforts," added Mr. Turenne. "Nigel has been the driving force behind our successful entry into the EA process for Baptiste, leveraging his deep understanding of the Project and the relevant regulatory frameworks to ensure our smooth advancement through the initial steps of the process.
"We are also pleased to expand the FPX team with the addition of Julia Tarnowski, who has a robust background in engineering and permitting compliance with a particular focus on mining operations and development projects in British Columbia," concluded Mr. Turenne.
Mr. Fisher has been with FPX since 2024, leading the execution of environmental assessment activities for Baptiste. He has over 20 years' experience leading environmental assessments, permitting and management systems, developing and executing on regulatory strategy and advancing governance and funding agreements with Indigenous governments across British Columbia. Prior to joining FPX, Mr. Fisher held progressively senior roles with New Gold, Teck Resources, Woodfibre LNG, and Skeena Gold and Silver.
Ms. Tarnowski has over 25 years of environmental engineering and regulatory experience across Western Canada mining operations holding senior engineering and environment roles on both consulting and owners' teams including Teck Resources and Cambria Gold Mines. Julia's technical expertise includes water management and water resources permitting, environmental management systems and structured decision frameworks in obtaining regulatory approvals for both mine construction and operations. Ms. Tarnowski is a Member of the Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and holds a Masters of Civil Engineering (Water Resources) from the University of British Columbia.
About the Baptiste Nickel Project
The Company's Baptiste Nickel Project represents a large-scale greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a sulphur-free, nickel-iron mineral called awaruite (Ni3Fe) hosted in an ultramafic/ophiolite complex. The absence of sulphur and our ability to connect to the BC Hydro grid means that Baptiste has the potential to be one of the lowest carbon-intensive nickel producers in the world and will produce a very high-grade product that does not require any intermediate smelting or complex refining. The Baptiste mineral claims cover an area of 453 km2west of Middle River and north of Trembleur Lake, in central British Columbia. In addition to the Baptiste Deposit itself, awaruite mineralization has been confirmed through drilling at several target areas within the same claims package, most notably at the Van Target which is located 6 km to the north of the Baptiste Deposit. Since 2010, approximately US$55 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Baptiste.
In 2024, the Province of British Columbia identified the Baptiste Nickel Project as the first project to be included in the Province's new Critical Minerals Office ("CMO") concierge service initiative, a provincial strategy action to enable the prioritization of critical minerals projects in B.C. The CMO initiative is providing an excellent structure to proactively identify and address issues and opportunities ahead of the Project's entry into the environmental assessment process.
About FPX Nickel Corp.
FPX Nickel Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of the Baptiste Nickel Project, located in central British Columbia, and other occurrences of the same unique style of naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy mineralization known as awaruite. For more information, please view the Company's website at https://fpxnickel.com/ or contact Martin Turenne, President and CEO, at (604) 681-8600 or [email protected].
On behalf of FPX Nickel Corp.
"Martin Turenne"
Martin Turenne, President, CEO and Director
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 TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE FPX Nickel Corp.
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