Excitement as Crawford Nickel Project put on the fast track by the federal government

As had been speculated, the Crawford Nickel Project near Timmins made the list of priority special projects, one of six announced by the feds on Thursday.

After much speculation, Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Thursday that Canada Nickel’s Crawford Nickel Project north of Timmins is one of its nation-building projects.

The special projects designation is aimed at getting the nickel mine up and running as fast as possible, creating what is expected to be the largest nickel sulphide mine in the western world.

Tim Hodgson, the federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister, said the announcement will make Canada and our allies less reliant on other countries.

“When China put export restrictions on a number of critical minerals, many major manufacturers were close to shutting down their operations,” Hodgson said.

“That’s not good for Canada. That’s not good for our allies. The reality is (that) nickel is one of those commodities that are being manipulated today. Crawford is a step to de-bottlenecking or reducing that stranglehold on critical minerals.”

Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby said the special projects designation from the federal government puts the project in the fast lane to getting built faster.

“This is a clear sign from the federal government that this is a project they want to see go forward, making those discussions that we’re having with partners in Japan, Korea and other G7 countries move that much quickly,” Selby said.

Hodgson said the federal government is putting up around $6.8 million, which will help the company attract the capital it needs.

“What we want to do is enable things so that the private sector funds it,” he said.

“By it doing that, the next mine that comes along, people will say, ‘Hey, Crawford did it. We can do it, too.’ That’s the goal.”

Selby said as a priority project, he’s hoping that will also help Canada Nickel access future funding envelopes and speed up the permitting process.

The company has a first-of-its-kind Indigenous ownership deal with Taykwa Tagamou Nation, which the company said is the largest ever First Nation investment in a critical minerals project.

First Nations partnerships

It also has partnerships with several other First Nation organizations.

“That’s something that doesn’t happen overnight,” Selby said.

“But, you know, over six years, we’ve built the relationships, we’ve created the opportunities, and (we’re) very much looking forward to working together with them to make the project a reality.”

With Thursday’s designation, Selby is hoping he can welcome back for a grand opening next year at its property on Highway 655, 40 kilometres north of Timmins.