The Baptiste (Decar) occurrence is located about 2.5 kilometres southeast of the summit of Mount Sidney Williams on its southern slopes, approximately 90 kilometres northwest of Fort St. James.

The Baptiste occurrence area is located within the Cache Creek Terrane which consists of the Sitlika assemblage and the Cache Creek Complex. The mineralized peridotites on the property belong to the Trembleur ultramafic unit of the Cache Creek Complex, a part of an obducted Upper Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic ophiolite sequence. The peridotites are variably serpentinized. The nickel alloy awaruite (Ni2-3Fe) formed during serpentinization of peridotite containing nickeliferous olivine.

The mineralization at the Baptiste deposit consists of the nickel-iron alloy awaruite (Ni2-3Fe). Awaruite is pervasively disseminated in serpentinized peridotite and occurs as relatively coarse grains between 50 to 400 micrometres in size. Awaruite has been observed throughout the entire extent of the peridotite but four zones of stronger mineralization have been delineated. The four zones are the Baptiste, Sidney (093K 072), Target B (093K 043) and the Van (093K 041) targets (Assessment Report 33414). The mineralization formed during serpentinization as a result of the break-down of nickeliferous olivine and the formation of the nickel-iron alloy. No structural controls are obvious. The largest target on the Decar property is the Baptiste prospect which is approximately 2.5 kilometres long and 0.6 kilometres wide. A fault forms the edge of the mineralized zone in the southwest, but the mineralization is open in all other directions. The depth of the mineralization at Baptiste has not been determined to date; all drillholes ended in mineralization. Most drillholes were 300 metres deep and drilled at an angle of 50 degrees (i.e. to a vertical depth of about 230 metres). One drillhole was 600 metres long (vertical depth of about 460 metres); it also ended in mineralization. The length, width, depth, and continuity of the mineralization at Target B, Sidney and Van have not been determined to date. Significant portions of all three target areas are occluded by surficial overburden.

Work History

During the summer of 1942, J.E. Armstrong and H.W. Little of the Geological Survey of Canada conducted prospecting and found several chromite deposits in ultrabasic rocks; nine chromite showings were found in the dunites and peridotites exposed in the Middle River Range which lies southwest of the village of Middle River.

In August 1974, Douglas Stelling performed rock chip sampling and prospecting on claims named Pauline 1-4 (093K 040), located about 3.2 kilometres east of Mount Sidney Williams and about 4.8 kilometres west of the Middle River.

From September to October 1979, Mountaineer Mines Ltd. conducted reconnaissance prospecting on the Cr 1-5 claims with the goal of establishing the location of chromite showings. A serpentinized peridotite-dunite batholith (the Trembleur intrusions) was found to underlie Mount Sidney Williams, with several serpentinized peridotite-dunite sills outcropping both at Mount Sidney Williams and Tsitutl Mountain. The main zone, known as the Van Decar Creek deposit (093K 041), is an irregular-shaped lens occurring at 1127.8 metres elevation and noted to be approximately 1.5 metres wide by 12.1 metres long. The main showing is 1.5 by 7.6 metres in area and contains at least 50 per cent chromite. A hand trench was dug and sampled, and more prospecting was recommended to test the extent of the dunite bodies.

On March 13, 1982, Western Geophysical Aero Data Ltd., on behalf of Northgane Minerals Ltd., conducted an airborne VLF-EM and magnetometer survey of approximately 310 line-kilometres on the Cr 1-6 claims. The survey was performed to define boundaries of the ultrabasic rocks and identify trends for further chromite exploration. Two areas of magnetic highs were determined to be striking northwest, separated by a prominent northwest-trending low. The highs were interpreted to be zones of ultrabasic rocks. Anomalies of very high magnetic intensity within the magnetic high zones were interpreted to be serpentinized phases.

In July, September, and October 1987, the Mount Sidney Williams area was explored by Lacana Mining Corporation under option agreement from Ursula Mowat. Rock, soil, silt, and heavy mineral samples were taken over the Van 1-2, Klone 1-2, and Mid claims; Klone 3-8 and One-Eye 1 claims were also staked at this time.

Additional prospecting was recommended, and in July to September 1988, Lacana Mining Corporation, still under option agreement from Mowat, carried out an exploration program on the Klone Group and Van Group. Line cutting, soil sampling, silt sampling, rock sampling, prospecting, mapping, and trenching were performed on the property. Some prospecting and soil sampling were also conducted on the Mid claim.

In June 1989, Eric A. Shaede, with assistance from Noranda Exploration Company Ltd., staked and prospected a 20-unit claim over the Baptiste Creek canyon.

From July to August 1990, a mapping and drilling program was conducted on the Mount Sidney Williams property by Viceroy Resource Corporation. Viceroy acted as the operator on the project and shared exploration expenditures with Channel Resources Ltd., who held the property under option from U. Mowat. Mapping concentrated in areas of known listwanite at a scale of 1:1000. Seven holes totalling 305.3 metres was drilled. Future geophysical surveys were recommended and in August 1991, Minnova Inc. conducted a 511.4 metre, 5-hole, BQ drilling program on the Mount Sidney Williams property, which was 100 per cent owned by U. Mowat.

In July 1994, Teryl Resources Corp. conducted a program of drilling and minor soil sampling on the Mount Sidney Williams property, which was 100 per cent owned by U. Mowat. Ten holes totalling 742.7 metres were drilled. The drilling failed to intersect any gold-bearing mineralization but did reveal carbonate listwanite zones in the ultramafics and volcaniclastics, as well as numerous thrust faults. Thirty-one follow-up drillholes were recommended. A total of 58 soil samples were collected and analysed; no results were discussed.

In July 1996, First Point Minerals Corporation collected outcrop grab samples as well as core samples from previous drilling from the Mount Sidney Williams property in order to perform geochemical and petrographical analysis to assess the property prior to entering into an option agreement with Ursula Mowat. Results from these analyses revealed that nickel that had been previously discovered in rock and soil samples was from either disseminated awaruite or nickel-iron alloy rather than from nickel in silicates. Further testing was recommended to test the potential of a large, low-grade nickel-cobalt-gold-chromite open pit deposit. First Point optioned the property as a result of the 1996 sampling. From June to August 1997, Ursula Mowat and First Point Minerals conducted a sampling and metallurgical testing program on Mowat’s Mount Sidney Williams property in order to test the feasibility of an awaruite and/or nickel deposit. Awaruite was found to be present and metallurgical work performed on two samples by Process Research indicated that it may be processed by magnetic separation. The metallurgical tests included magnetic separation, gravity separation, and sulphuric acid leach tests. First Point dropped the option in late 1997.

In July 1998, Ursula Mowat completed mapping and sampling in the West Peak and Baptiste Creek areas of the Mount Sidney Williams property. In June 1999, U. Mowat commissioned mapping and sampling on the Mid claim. In August 1999, rock samples were collected and analyzed throughout the Mount Sidney Williams property. During August 2000, a previously unexplored area of the West Peak location was mapped and sampled on behalf of Mowat.

In August 2002, rock samples were collected and analyzed from selected areas of the Mount Sidney Williams property by Ursula Mowat in order to try and locate the source of several geochemical anomalies outlined by previous sampling. In July 2003, new clear-cuts on the Mid claim and outcrops on the Klone 7 claim were examined and sampled by Mowat. In September 2004, soil sampling was conducted on the One-Eye 1 and Klone 1 claims, west of Van Decar Creek and Mount Sidney Williams, by Mowat.

In July 2006, on behalf of Mowat, baseline and grid lines were established to assist in locating and mapping a quartz-carbonate-talc +/- mariposite zone mentioned in a thesis by H.W. Little in 1947. Soil and rock samples were also collected. Due to poor soil development and till, soil sampling returned no significant gold values. Rock samples yielded values up to 1731 parts per million nickel and 927 parts per million chromium (Assessment Report 28806).

In August 2007, First Point conducted a field program of prospecting and rock sampling on the Decar property in an effort to determine the economic potential for disseminated nickel-iron alloy targets. Sixty rock samples were collected and analyzed with an average value of 0.21 per cent nickel. The program was successful in locating ultramafic rocks with nickel grades potentially suitable for low-grade bulk mineable targets. From July to September 2008, First Point collected rock and soil samples from the Decar property. Nickel-iron alloy (awaruite) was confirmed to be present over wide areas of the property, with nickel content ranging from 68 to 85 per cent. Metallurgical testing, mapping, sampling, magnetic surveys, and a drill program were recommended to follow up the extent and economic feasibility of the mineralization. In June and October 2009, bedrock mapping was completed, and rock and sediment samples were collected by First Point under an option-joint venture with Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Canada Inc. Rocks were analyzed with a Niton XRF analyzer. Nickel values ranged from 1142 to 2753 parts per million over the Baptiste, Sidney (093K 072), and Van (093K 041) target areas (Assessment Report 31334). Detailed metallurgical testing and geophysical surveys were recommended for future work.

In 2010, First Point commissioned a ground induced polarization (IP) survey on the Baptiste and Sidney (093K 072) targets to differentiate coarse-grained from fine-grained awaruite. However, no correlation between IP response and awaruite mineralization was observed. In 2010, Cliffs Natural Resources commissioned a helicopter-borne magnetic gradiometer survey on the entire property. The survey was completed by Aeroquest International Ltd. and a total of 1638 line kilometres was flown.

In 2011, Cliffs Natural Resources completed a diamond drilling program consisting of 36 drillholes totalling 11,465 metres on the Decar property. Thirty-five holes were drilled on the Baptiste project with the goal to estimate a resource at that prospect. One hole was drilled at the Target B area (093K 043), approximately 5 kilometres north of Baptiste. All holes at the Baptiste showed consistent mineralization in the form of disseminated awaruite hosted by peridotite. No awaruite exists in various dikes that cut the peridotite body. In the southwest of the Baptiste area, the mineralization is cut off by a fault, but the mineralization is open in all other directions, including at depth.

The 2011 drilling data and re-assayed core from the 2010 drilling completed by First Point Minerals Corporation were used to create a geological model and estimate a resource of the Baptiste prospect. The modelling used the ordinary kriging method to estimate an inferred resource of 1,197,000,000 tonnes at a grade of 0.113 per cent nickel at a cut-off grade of 0.06 per cent nickel (Assessment Report 33414).

In 2012, First Point Minerals Corp. provided an initial resource estimate for the Baptiste deposit at the Decar nickel-alloy project. The project is under option to Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Canada Inc., an affiliate of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. This year’s exploration program extended near-surface mineralization in the south-central area, and further defined the volume of an east trending higher grade zone. A preliminary economic assessment is underway, with completion expected for March 2013.

In 2013, First Point Minerals Corp. reported an extension of the Baptiste deposit at the Decar project that has increased the indicated resource to 1159.51 million tonnes of 0.124 per cent nickel at a 0.06 per cent cut-off grade (Davis Tube Recoverable) and an inferred resource of 870.40 million tonnes grading 0.125 per cent nickel (McLaughlin, M., Ronacher, E. (2013-08-16): Preliminary Economic Assessment Decar Nickel Project). Cliffs Natural Resources will fund a prefeasibility study for the project. Conceptually, a 114,000 tonnes-per-day open-pit operation using onsite magnetic separation and gravity concentration would produce a 13.5 per cent nickel concentrate with iron (45 to 50 per cent) and chromium (about 2 per cent) by-products. This would produce 37,400 tonnes-per-year of nickel over 24 years and is projected to cost approximately $2.1 billion (Information Circular 2014-1, page 15).

In 2014, Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Canada Inc. work included First Nations engagement and baseline environmental studies. In April, First Point Minerals Corp. reported completing an initial market test for concentrate produced from the Decar project. The bench-scale tests indicate that Decar concentrate can be blended with laterite nickel as feedstock in ferronickel production, and as direct feed in stainless steel circuits (Information Circular 2015-1, page 22).

In 2017, FPX Nickel Corp. (formerly First Point Minerals Corp.) continued exploration on their Decar project. The company drilled eight boreholes totalling 1197 metres at the Baptiste deposit. Near-surface mineralization was extended 500 metres beyond previous drill coverage and supported possible extension of the mineralized zone by 650 metres to the southeast. Highlights included 96 metres grading 0.167 per cent nickel, which represents the second-highest grade, near-surface interval intersected at the deposit. The 2017 and previous drilling in the southeast portion of the Baptiste deposit defined a zone approximately 1000 metres long east-west by 200 to 600 metres wide of near-surface mineralization.

In late February 2018, FPX Nickel Corp. released a pit-constrained updated mineral resource estimate with an indicated resource of 1,842,645,000 tonnes grading 0.123 per cent nickel and an inferred resource of 390,788,000 tonnes grading 0.115 per cent nickel (Voordouw, R.J., Simpson, R.G. (2018-02-26): 2018 Technical (NI 43-101) Report on the Decar Nickel-Iron Alloy Property). Later in 2018, a metallurgical testwork program was initiated.

In September 2020, FPX Nickel Corp. reported an updated mineral resource for the Baptiste deposit of 1 995 873 000 tonnes indicated grading 0.122 per cent nickel and 592 890 000 tonnes inferred grading 0.114 per cent nickel using a 0.06 nickel cut-off grade (Grandillo, A., Voordouw, R. [2021-03-17]: NI 43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Baptiste Nickel Project, British Columbia, Canada).