en.Wedoany.com Reported - Canada Nickel (TSXV: CNC; US-OTC: CNIKF) has received federal approval for its Crawford polymetallic project in Ontario, paving the way for a construction decision next year.
Julie Dabrusin, Canada's Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature, issued a positive decision on the project. The company said Friday that the federal decision statement is now complete, and the team will continue advancing detailed engineering, project financing, and the remaining provincial and federal permits required before construction begins. The Crawford project thus becomes the first mining project approved under Canada's Impact Assessment Act since its amendment in 2019.
On the approval pathway, the project was added by Ottawa to the accelerated permitting process of the Major Projects Office in late 2025; Ontario has also included it in its "One Project, One Process" (1P1P) fast-track approval framework.
Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel, said in a statement that this decision recognizes the strategic importance of responsibly developing Canada's critical mineral resources in collaboration with all levels of government and Indigenous communities, under rigorous environmental standards. He also noted that the team completed federal permitting in four years and advanced Crawford from its fifth drill hole to a feasibility study and the current stage in under seven years—significantly faster than the typical timeline for major projects.
The Crawford mine, located approximately 40 kilometres north of Timmins, Ontario, is considered to hold the world's second-largest nickel reserve and resource. According to a feasibility study released in October 2023, the mine will be built in two phases with an investment of US$3.5 billion.
Over a minimum 41-year operating life, the mine will produce 1.6 million tonnes of nickel, 58 million tonnes of iron, and 2.8 million tonnes of chromium, along with by-product cobalt, palladium, and platinum. Canada Nickel estimates the project has an after-tax net present value of US$2.8 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of 17.6%.
With permits secured, Canada Nickel still needs to finalize a multi-billion-dollar financing package and make a formal construction decision. The company has already arranged US$2.5 billion in financing for Crawford, including US$500 million in debt from Export Development Canada, C$500 million from an unnamed "leading Canadian financial institution," approximately US$600 million in tax credits related to critical minerals and carbon capture, and an option agreement under which Samsung SDI can invest US$100 million to acquire a 10% interest in the project.
The approval milestone comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government accelerates permitting for strategic resource projects in response to ongoing trade tensions with the United States and to strengthen domestic critical mineral supply security. Nickel remains a key raw material for stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries, and Indonesia's dominance in global supply has heightened industry interest in developing new Western nickel sources.
In January, Crawford became the second project advanced under Ontario's 1P1P framework; three months earlier, Frontier Lithium's (TSXV: FL; US-OTC: LITOF) PAK project had been included in the framework. Ontario's Minister of Energy and Mines, Stephen Lecce, said in January that with the 1P1P fast-track approval, the province hopes the Crawford project can break ground before year-end and begin production in the fourth quarter of 2028.
The Crawford project is also notable for its disclosed low-carbon dioxide emission design. Its approach involves injecting concentrated CO₂ during tailings processing at the concentrator plant, enabling geological sequestration of carbon while the tailings are still in the processing circuit, rather than after tailings are discharged. The project can capture and store 1.5 million tonnes of carbon annually.
