Canada Nickel said it’s started the process of filing its federal environmental impact statement for its proposed Crawford open-pit nickel, north of Timmins.
In an Oct. 2 news release, the company said that regulatory requirement process will take six weeks to complete.
This is the second phase of the federal permitting process and Ottawa is now the clock to come back within 365 days on a answer whether the project can proceed as is, must go back to the drawing board for revisions, or can’t continue at all.
Canada Nickel believes it’s on track to get both federal and provincial permits by the middle of 2025 in order to make a construction decision soon afterwards. They’re aiming for a 2026 groundbreaking and first production by year’s end.
The impact statement contains the environmental baseline data and an analysis of the environmental, social and economic effects of the proposed mine.
Crawford is a potentially large volume, low-grade nickel operation with an estimated 41-year mine life.
The company claims Crawford will contain the second largest nickel reserves in the world after Norilsk, Russia and the third largest nickel sulphide operation.
“The submission of our federal Impact Statement for the project represents another major milestone for the company and brings us one step closer to securing our permits, which we are targeting in 2025,” said Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel in a news release.
Canada Nickel is billing Crawford as an net-zero emitting operation that will adhere to responsible mining practices and with measures in place to mitigate any potential negative impacts. Extensive consultation with area Indigenous communities and other stakeholders were carried out, the company claims.
“We’re grateful for the strong partnerships we’ve built with Indigenous Nations and community stakeholders, whose contributions have been essential in shaping the submission,” added Selby. “Their input and advice helped ensure the project aligns with our shared values of sustainability and regional economic growth.”
On the project financing front, Canada Nickel hopes to put together a $2.5-billion funding package to build Crawford by early 2025.
The company made some traction with recent news that Export Development Canada has offered a US$500 million ($670 million) letter of intent and will be the lead arranger to open the doors for, hopefully, more investment.
The would-be nickel miner later announced a $500-million letter of support from an undisclosed “leading financial institution.”
The company is also looking for government support, particularly millions in federal government tax credits for critical minerals projects and carbon capture storage, since Crawford is designed to become one of Canada’s largest carbon storage facilities.
