Ontario Construction News staff writer
Canada Nickel Company Inc. says an Aug. 30 Letter of Interest (LOI) from Export Development Canada (EDC), will provide long term debt financing of up to US$500 million to develop the Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project in Timmins.
According to the LOI, EDC could consider a debt tenor of up to eighteen years, subject to certain conditions.
Also, the deal depends on the completion of a rigorous due diligence process.
“We are very pleased with the LOI as it marks an important milestone towards securing a full financing package for Crawford,” said Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel. “We look forward to working closely with EDC to complete the due diligence and negotiation process to secure this funding.
The LOI, along with the refundable critical minerals and carbon capture & storage tax credits in excess of US$600 million will be used for the initial phase of Crawford’s development.
“Additionally, we continue to make good progress with our financial advisors Deutsche Bank, Scotiabank and Cutfield Freeman to secure the remaining project funding required to begin construction when permits are received, which we expect to be by mid 2025,” Selby said.
Canada Nickel Company will manage the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of an open-pit nickel-cobalt mine and on-site metal mill about 43 kilometres north of Timmins.
The project will have a mine ore production capacity of 275,000 tonnes per day and a mill ore input capacity of 120,000 tonnes per day and is expected to operate for about 43 years.
Earlier this year Stantec was selected to provide professional environmental consulting services for the project – one of the largest nickel sulfide operations in the world.
Stantec will prepare an Impact Statement, class environmental assessments (Class EAs), and the supporting technical studies to assess project impacts, identify mitigation measures, and confirm follow-up programs for the project.
In addition to nickel, other metals such as cobalt, chromium, palladium, and platinum are expected to be recovered from concentrate streams. The project is expected to produce nearly 50,000 tons of nickel annually.
Canada Nickel has developed “In-Process Tailings Carbonation,” which is expected to enable over 1 million tons of carbon storage annually.
“Stantec is excited to be part of this critical minerals project, and to leverage our unique technical and regulatory experience for CNC,” said Chris Powell, senior environmental planner at Stantec. “Our talented team of environmental assessment practitioners, who offer both national mining sector experience and local knowledge, will lead and prepare the Impact Statement through the regulatory approvals process and toward its next milestone of obtaining permits.”
The project entered the impact statement phase, under the Canadian government’s Impact Assessment Act.
“We’re looking forward to working alongside Stantec’s EA and permitting experts on this landmark project,” said Pierre-Philippe Dupont, vice president of sustainability for Canada Nickel Company “Their expertise will be invaluable as we move through the approvals process. Crawford is poised to be a leader in the energy transition through our large-scale production of critical minerals, which are invaluable to the electric vehicle revolution and stainless steel markets, while also supporting Canada’s climate objectives through industrial-scale carbon capture and storage.”
