Could you provide some recent highlights as the company develops its Crawford project and share your outlook for nickel?

In less than 3 years, Canada Nickel has advanced a new nickel sulphide discovery into the largest nickel sulphide discovery since the early 1970s, and is on track to complete a feasibility study by the end of 2022. During the second half of 2021, following the successful filing of a robust PEA on Canada Nickel’s 100% owned Crawford nickel-sulphide project in July, the company acquired 13 new properties, effectively consolidating key nickel targets in the Timmins region and giving the company a surface area of 37.7 square km. Each of the recent acquisitions contains one or more ultramafic targets based on combinations of historical geophysical work and drilling over the past 65 years.

We believe this will allow Canada Nickel to establish a scalable, multi-deposit nickel camp with the potential to deliver NetZero nickel, cobalt and iron, required for the next generation of battery metals supply. Canada Nickel’s strategy is underpinned by nickel demand growth, which continues to be underestimated by most analysts. Nickel demand is up 15%+ driven by a combination of demand from the EV sector growing by more than 100% and demand from stainless steel growing by more than 10%. We believe this demand growth is leading to the largest nickel market deficit ever and the emergence of a nickel supercycle by the middle of this decade.

What technologies are being developed to achieve a Zero Carbon footprint at Crawford?

Canada Nickel formed NetZero Metals Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary that is conducting research and development toward establishing a Timmins-based nickel processing facility that will utilize existing, best-in-class technologies and develop proprietary processes to achieve zero-carbon operations.  Canada Nickel has applied for trademarks for NetZero Nickel, NetZero Cobalt, and NetZero Iron in US, Canada, and other jurisdictions.  The company is researching, developing and evaluating the use of various technologies to achieve net zero objectives at each stage of the mining process: mining, milling and processing.

At present, the Crawford project offers two significant advantages that combined provide a strong foundation to support of our net-zero mandate.  Firstly, all contemplated operations are expected to take advantage of low-cost, low to zero-carbon hydroelectricity abundantly available in the Timmins region.  Secondly, regional geology is largely comprised of serpentine rock that naturally absorbs carbon dioxide when exposed to air. Canada Nickel has begun research into the carbon sequestration potential of serpentine rock sourced directly from the Crawford site as it relates to proposed operations which would see the extraction, crushing and stockpiling of serpentine rock.  We are currently evaluating opportunities to optimize and further quantify carbon sequestration to achieve net zero operations. 

How do Canada Nickel’s tailings at the Crawford project have the capacity to sequester CO2?

Our initial lab scale testing results indicate that Crawford tailings have the potential to capture 17.5 kg CO2 per tonne of tailings - more than three times the amount required to offset Crawford’s projected carbon footprint of 4.6 kg of CO2 per tonne of tailings during proposed operations.  And, any amounts in excess of projected 4.6 kg CO2 per tonne could be sold for carbon credits. The deposition of waste rock and tailings during the proposed Crawford mining process will also expose the serpentine rock to air, which provides the potential for this material to absorb CO2 through natural mineral carbonation and offsetting CO2 emissions from the project. We are now quite confident that we can get beyond NetZero to a point where Crawford could have carbon credits available for sale.  With 856 million mt of tailings generated in the PEA, each kg of CO2 per tonne of tailings beyond what’s required for NetZero would generate nearly 9 million mt of carbon credits over the life of mine.

What role can carbon capture could play in the transition economy?

Canada Nickel’s ongoing discussions with investors and downstream users reinforce growing concerns around stainless steel and battery material production standards and supply chain sustainability, transparency and reliability as they prepare for significant demand growth over the next decade.  We are proud of the important inroads we have taken toward establishing the carbon sequestration potential of Crawford’s tailings, along with all of the company’s initiatives around the responsible and sustainable development of our vast nickel resources.

In response to Canada’s nationally determined contributions toward this long-term temperature goal, Canada Nickel is currently undertaking the engineering and feasibility study of the Crawford project toward becoming the world’s first NetZero nickel mining operation. Given the project’s large scale NetZero objectives and Tier 1 location, Crawford is expected to attract major attention, which may also incentivize the development and construction of a co-located, third-party stainless steel mill using the same RKEF-AOD technology utilized in China and Indonesia.

Based on the results of the PEA, Crawford is expected to produce two nickel concentrates, including a high-grade concentrate expected to be the highest grade nickel concentrate at 35% nickel, and an iron concentrate containing chrome targeting the stainless steel market. The company’s focus on the stainless steel market is expected to allow operations to fully utilize the substantial by-product value for contained iron and chrome, placing Crawford on the lower-end of the cost curve. With rapidly increasing demand from the EV market, processing options to deliver nickel units to the EV supply chain are being evaluated for inclusion in the feasibility study, thereby allowing cobalt and PGM contained value to be captured and add further value to the project.