Canada approves massive Ontario nickel mine, selected for fast-tracking

Crawford project projected to attract $3.6 billion, create 4,000 jobs

Federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin on Friday released her decision to approve construction for Canada Nickel’s Crawford project, located about 25 miles north of the town of Timmins, Ontario. The site is estimated to contain one of the world’s biggest nickel reserves, the government said.

The Crawford project is projected to attract 5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.6 billion) in investment and could create about 4,000 new jobs, according to the government. Canada Nickel plans an open-pit mine with the capacity to produce roughly 240,000 metric tons of ore a day and a mill with input capacity of 120,000 tons daily, with operations projected to last about 41 years.

“This is how we create investment certainty for Canadian mining here in Ontario and across the country, so we can be a critical minerals superpower and create economic growth and opportunity and enhance supply chain sovereignty for all Canadians,” Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has pledged to support the building of projects of national interest to strengthen the economy, lure investment, and help drive an increase in exports to countries beyond the U.S., traditionally Canada’s biggest export market by far. Canada, like the U.S. and other countries, has also made critical minerals a strategic priority.

Crawford is the first mining project to receive a decision under Canada’s amended Impact Assessment Act since 2019. It was selected for fast-tracking through the federal government’s new Major Projects Office and was one of the first projects picked under the Ontario government’s One Project, One Process framework.

Canada Nickel said that with the federal decision secured, it can continue to push ahead with detailed engineering, project financing, and work to gain remaining provincial and federal permits needed to start construction. The company said it has established indigenous partnerships, including a 20 million Canadian dollar equity investment from Taykwa Tagamou Nation, which the company called the largest known first nation investment in a critical minerals project in Canada.

Chief Executive Mark Selby said the company advanced Crawford from its fifth drill hole through a feasibility study to the milestone federal approval in under seven years, faster than typical for large-scale projects. He said a construction decision is expected next year.

Companies are expected to carry out a project within five years of Ottawa issuing a decision statement, after which the approval will expire unless an extension is given.

Dabrusin in her decision identified possible adverse effects from the project on fish, water quality, migratory birds, and indigenous communities, but concluded it was in the public interest for Crawford to be built. She said there were mitigation efforts the company planned to put in place, and the approval imposes legally binding conditions on Canada Nickel that include protections for indigenous people living in and using the area.

Independent economic analysis prepared for Canada Nickel estimated Crawford could contribute about 70 billion Canadian dollars to Canadian gross domestic product over the life of the mine, support about 185,000 person-years of employment, and generate long-term activity in Northern Ontario and Canada. The company’s plans envisage Crawford becoming one of the world’s largest nickel sulfide operations and North America’s only primary source of chromium, two metals used in defense and aerospace equipment, stainless steel, and electric vehicle batteries.