Ottawa formally approves Canada Nickel’s Crawford mine in major projects push

Ottawa formally approves Canada Nickel’s Crawford mine in major projects push NIALL MCGEE MINING REPORTER PUBLISHED YESTERDAY Open this photo in gallery: The Crawford nickel cobalt project will be built north of Timmins, Ont. CANADA NICKEL COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Key takeaways This summary is AI-generated and editor reviewed. Learn more Ottawa has approved construction of Canada Nickel’s Crawford mine, located north of Timmins, Ont. It’s the first mining project approved under the federal Impact Assessment Act. Federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin imposed dozens of legally binding conditions on Canada Nickel, covering water quality monitoring, lighting for migratory birds and workplace policies. Canada Nickel must finalize a US$2.5-billion financing package before construction can begin, with roughly US$300-million still to be secured. READ MORE Ottawa has formally approved the construction of Canada Nickel Co. Inc.’s CNC-X -3.16% decrease Crawford critical minerals mine, not long after the project was selected for federal fast-tracking through Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Major Projects Office. The Globe and Mail reported on Thursday that Toronto-based Canada Nickel had secured the approval and it was confirmed by the company in a press release on Friday. Located about 40 kilometres north of Timmins in Northeastern Ontario, Crawford contains the world’s second largest nickel reserve, and is expected to be the biggest nickel mine in the Western world once it is built. Crawford should be in production in 2029, and is expected to operate for 41 years. Federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin in her decision statement released on Friday said that while the mine will likely cause adverse effects on fish, migratory birds, water quality and on Indigenous communities, its positive economic effects, as well as mitigation efforts by the company to minimize the environmental damage, led her to conclude that it is in the public interest for Crawford to go ahead. Ms. Dabrusin imposed dozens of legally binding conditions on Canada Nickel around the operation of Crawford. Those include monitoring water quality, lighting stipulations to account for migratory birds, as well as workplace commitments relating to anti-harassment, anti-bullying and gender policies. In an interview on Friday, Canada Nickel chief executive officer Mark Selby…