# First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Produces High Grade Alloy Concentrate Up to 71.9% Nickel and 1.76% Cobalt from Its Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project, Using Its First-Ever ONSHORE MAX \(Magnetic Alloy eXtraction\) Recovery & Concentration Process, Unveiled at the Fastmarkets Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials Conference, Las Vegas, USA Canonical Atlas analysis: https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/first-atlantic-nickel-cobalt-produces-high-grade-alloy-concentrate-up-to-71-9-ni--0b8e5bef-32cc-423c-aedb-b75def37b1c1 Original source: https://money.tmx.com/en/quote/FAN/news/7679963689279676/first-atlantic-nickel-cobalt-produces-high-grade-alloy-concentrate-up-to-71-9-ni Publisher: tmx Original announcement: 2026-06-24T10:30:00.000Z Analysis by Minestarters Atlas Atlas analysis published: Unknown date Atlas analysis updated: Unknown date - Company: First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp. - Ticker: FAN - Exchange: TSX - Region: Newfoundland and Labrador - Primary commodity: Nickel - Secondary commodities: Cobalt - Document categories: Metallurgy - Extracted: 2026-09-12 03:20:15 UTC Narrative sentiment: 0.80 · Bullish ## Minestarters Atlas summary First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt reported preliminary bench-scale metallurgical results for its ONSHORE MAX™ process at the Pipestone XL Project. The two-stage LIMS and flotation process produced a high-grade alloy concentrate averaging 67.4% nickel and up to 1.76% cobalt, demonstrating a potential smelter-free pathway for awaruite mineralization. Reasoning: The company demonstrated a successful proof-of-concept for a proprietary magnetic separation and flotation process that produces exceptionally high-grade nickel-cobalt alloy concentrate, bypassing traditional smelting. - Positive factor: High grade concentrate \(up to 71.9% Ni\) - Positive factor: Smelter-free processing pathway - Positive factor: Proven methods \(LIMS and flotation\) - Positive factor: Cobalt recovers with nickel - Negative factor: Preliminary bench-scale results only - Negative factor: Nickel loss to solution during flotation \(4.9-7.1%\) Facts used in scoring: 3 ## Classification and evidence **Free Milling** Polarity: positive Definition: Simple, clean ore amenable to standard processing without oxidation. Why it applies: The awaruite is a naturally occurring metallic alloy that is sulphur-free and can be concentrated by magnetic separation and flotation without smelting or roasting. Evidence · text > Awaruite \(Ni₃Fe\) is a naturally occurring, magnetic, sulphur-free nickel-iron-cobalt alloy **Bench Scale Only** Polarity: negative Definition: Only preliminary bench tests completed — no locked-cycle or pilot work. Why it applies: The results are explicitly described as preliminary bench-scale test work on a single composite sample. Evidence · text > The metallurgical results disclosed herein are preliminary and are based on bench-scale test work performed on a single composite sample. **Mill Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Processing via mill or concentrator \(CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation\). Why it applies: the document describes a flotation route \("flotation"\) **Gravity Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Gravity separation forms a material part of the flowsheet. Why it applies: the document describes a gravity route \("gravity"\) **POX/BIOX Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Pressure or bio-oxidation for refractory ore — high CAPEX and OPEX. Why it applies: the document describes a pox\_biox route \("roasting"\) **Single Domain Only** Polarity: negative Definition: Testing limited to one composite or domain — representativeness not established. Why it applies: only one composite was tested ## Extracted facts Stored fact records: 3. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record. ## Metallurgical Results (3) ### flotation [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/first-atlantic-nickel-cobalt-produces-high-grade-alloy-concentrate-up-to-71-9-ni--0b8e5bef-32cc-423c-aedb-b75def37b1c1#fact-metallurgical-facts-0) Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project · nickel #### Identity - Project: Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project - Commodity: nickel - Region: canada\_nl - Reported Region: Newfoundland and Labrador - Ticker: FAN #### Test Work - Program Status: preliminary - Test Type: flotation - Processing Route: low-intensity magnetic separation \(LIMS\) followed by flotation - Sample: Master Composite \(RPM Zone\) - final flotation concentrate #### Recovery - Recovery: 67.6 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test - Head Grade: 0.12 - Head Grade Unit: % - Conc. Grade: 67.4 - Conc. Grade Unit: % #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: The flotation stage achieved a very high nickel grade of 67.4% from a low-grade head, demonstrating effective concentration. - Positive factor: High concentrate grade - Negative factor: Preliminary nature of results Evidence · text > The four flotation tests averaged 67.4% nickel and reached up to 71.9% nickel #### Tags used in scoring **Mill Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Processing via mill or concentrator \(CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation\). Why it applies: processing\_route matches the flotation signal **Low Recovery** Polarity: negative Definition: Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route. Why it applies: 67.6% is below the weak band \(75%\) **Byproduct Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver. Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit ### flotation [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/first-atlantic-nickel-cobalt-produces-high-grade-alloy-concentrate-up-to-71-9-ni--0b8e5bef-32cc-423c-aedb-b75def37b1c1#fact-metallurgical-facts-1) Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project · cobalt #### Identity - Project: Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project - Commodity: cobalt - Region: canada\_nl - Reported Region: Newfoundland and Labrador - Ticker: FAN #### Test Work - Program Status: preliminary - Test Type: flotation - Processing Route: low-intensity magnetic separation \(LIMS\) followed by flotation - Sample: Master Composite \(RPM Zone\) - final flotation concentrate #### Recovery - Recovery: 67.6 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test - Head Grade: 0.12 - Head Grade Unit: % - Conc. Grade: 1.76 - Conc. Grade Unit: % #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Cobalt reports into the same high-grade concentrate, suggesting a single circuit may suffice. - Positive factor: Cobalt recovers alongside nickel Evidence · text > grading up to 71.9% nickel and 1.76% cobalt #### Tags used in scoring **Mill Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Processing via mill or concentrator \(CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation\). Why it applies: processing\_route matches the flotation signal **Byproduct Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver. Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit ### flotation [Link to this fact](https://atlas-extractions.minestarters.com/news/first-atlantic-nickel-cobalt-produces-high-grade-alloy-concentrate-up-to-71-9-ni--0b8e5bef-32cc-423c-aedb-b75def37b1c1#fact-metallurgical-facts-2) Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project · nickel #### Identity - Project: Pipestone XL Nickel-Cobalt Alloy Project - Commodity: nickel - Region: canada\_nl - Reported Region: Newfoundland and Labrador - Ticker: FAN #### Test Work - Program Status: preliminary - Test Type: flotation - Processing Route: low-intensity magnetic separation \(LIMS\) followed by flotation - Sample: Master Composite \(RPM Zone\) - magnetic concentrate \(LIMS\) #### Recovery - Recovery: 90 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test - Head Grade: 0.12 - Head Grade Unit: % - Conc. Grade: 1.6 - Conc. Grade Unit: % #### Lab - Laboratory: SGS Canada Inc. #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: The LIMS stage successfully rejected 74% of mass while retaining ~90% of recoverable nickel. - Positive factor: High mass rejection in LIMS stage Evidence · text > produced a magnetic concentrate grading approximately 1.6% nickel #### Tags used in scoring **Mill Route** Polarity: neutral Definition: Processing via mill or concentrator \(CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation\). Why it applies: processing\_route matches the flotation signal **High Recovery** Polarity: positive Definition: Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route. Why it applies: 90% is at or above the exceptional band \(90%\) **Byproduct Commodity** Polarity: neutral Definition: The tested commodity is a byproduct rather than the primary economic driver. Why it applies: the release describes a byproduct credit ## How Atlas produces this analysis Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.