The developer of an Ontario nickel project that could become a significant new raw material source for the North American electric vehicle battery supply chain has landed Anglo American as a “cornerstone investor.”
CEO Mark Selby said the deal is a “key milestone” on Canada Nickel’s march toward production at its Crawford nickel project north of Timmins, Ont. Along with taking a roughly 10-per-cent interest in Canada Nickel, the global mining company signed a binding deal granting it offtake rights to about 10 per cent of the Canadian mine’s production, up to 65 kilotonnes of material, as well as carbon credits generated by the project.
With the potential to produce as much as 42 kilotonnes of nickel per year, the Crawford project could add a significant new stream of material to the North American battery supply chain. As with other mineral inputs such as lithium, the EV transition is seen as a “generational opportunity” for Canadian nickel producers.