Canada Nickel on federal short list, Star says

Canada Nickel’s (TSXV: CNC: US-OTC: CNIKF) proposed Crawford mine in Ontario may be among a new batch of projects due to join a federal fast track on Thursday, according to the Toronto Star.

Crawford is under serious consideration as one of several new projects in transportation infrastructure, electricity, critical minerals and energy for the Major Projects Office, The Star said Tuesday. It cited a senior government source who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

The project, believed to hold the world’s second-largest nickel reserves and resources, would cost US$3.5 billion over two stages, according to a feasibility study from October 2023. Over a 41-year life, the mine would produce 3.5 billion lb. of nickel, 52.9 million lb. of cobalt, 490,000 oz. of palladium and platinum, 58 million tonnes of iron, and 6.2 million lb. of chromium.

Shares in Canada Nickel shot up 26% on Tuesday to close at $1.34 apiece in Toronto, valuing the company at $274 million.

“The next round of major projects is going to be announced later this week, on Thursday,” Carney told reporters on Tuesday. The Canadian leader is to make the announcement in Prince Rupert, B.C. and may make a related statement before the Grey Cup Canadian football championship in Winnipeg on Sunday.

Major projects

There is also speculation that a bitumen pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast will be one of the office’s new projects. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has lobbied for the pipeline and said Tuesday there are negotiations with the federal government even though B.C. Premier David Eby opposes the concept.

The office list already includes Newmont’s (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) Red Chris copper-gold mine expansion in British Columbia and Foran Mining’s (TSXV: FOM) McIlvenna Bay copper project in Saskatchewan on it, according to a September announcement by Carney.

Other projects so far are a liquified natural gas project in B.C., small modular nuclear reactors in Ontario and an expansion of the Port of Montreal. 

The new announcements are due a week after Carney’s Liberal government proposed a budget that earmarks billions in funding for mining projects, and a G7 meeting Oct. 31 that heard Canada promise to support 25 new investments in graphite, rare earth elements and scandium.

The office is the Liberal government’s attempt to cut the permitting timelines that have often delayed mines, pipelines and energy projects for more than a decade.