Canada Nickel’s Crawford $2-billion mine proposal is ranked as a Canadian nation-building project
The Globe and Mail is reporting that the federal government has given the green light for Canada Nickel is begin construction of its Crawford open-pit nickle mine, north of Timmins.
The Globe quotes two anonymous sources. A formal announcement of the approval reportedly comes on Friday.
Crawford is one of the federal government’s hand-picked ‘nation-building’ projects that was earmarked for regulatory fast-tracking through the Major Projects Office.
The Toronto mine developer said in June that it expected a decision from the federal environment minister Julie Dabrusin within 30 days after the company filed its last impact assessment report.
This is frees up the proposed pit operation, located 40 kilometres north of Timmins, from all federal regulatory obstacles and enables Canada Nickel to raise the $2.5-billion needed to make a formal construction decision and begin ordering long lead equipment items.
Canada Nickel is still putting together its project financing package for Crawford, which involves negotiations with Export Development Canada and other strategic lenders and private equity funders.
The company has indicated it wants to start construction in 2027 to be in production by 2029. The mine would be have an initial 40-year operating life.
The development would be a boon to the economy of Timmins and northeastern Ontario, creating more than 1,000 direct job, according to a Canada Nickel economic impact report, and more than 3,000 indirect mining and support jobs.
Crawford contains 3.8 million tonnes of proven and probable nickel reserves. The company ranks Crawford as the second largest nickel reserve in the world, behind Norilsk, Russia.