Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government is speeding up the approval process for Canada Nickel Co.’s Crawford nickel-cobalt sulphide project in the Timmins Nickel District, the second project to move forward under the province’s one project, one process framework launched in October.
Fast-tracking the mine as a critical minerals project “sends a strong message that Northern Ontario is open for business,” said George Pirie, MPP for Timmins. “With decades of production ahead, this project will support local businesses and suppliers, create economic certainty and strengthen Timmins’ role as a global hub for critical minerals.”
The Ministry of Energy and Mines in a statement said the framework, previously used to accelerate Frontier Lithium’s PAK project near Red Lake, provides a single point of contact to halve government review time while upholding the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous peoples.
It said the project is expected to attract a total of $5 billion in investment and create 2,000 jobs during construction while also supporting up to 1,300 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs during the expected 41 year mine life.
Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce said the project “will supercharge our economy and help end China’s critical mineral dominance.”
Located forty-two kilometres north of Timmins, Crawford is one of the world’s largest nickel resources with an estimated mineral reserve of 1,715 million tonnes of low carbon nickel used in electric vehicle batteries and steel-making supply chains. The province’s PC government says emissions will be 90 per cent below the global average.
In addition to nickel, projected outputs include millions of pounds of cobalt and North America’s only domestic source of chromium, with the mine aiming for production by late 2027.
If constructed as proposed, the project will include:
- A single large open pit mine with two access zones
- Two ore processing plants
- Mining and processing infrastructure
- Realignment of approximately 25 kilometres of Highway 655
- Relocation of an existing 500-kilovolt transmission line
- Two new electricity substations with an estimated demand and operating load of 230 kilovolts and 34.5 kilovolts
