Canada Nickel Company has appointed Stantec to provide environmental consulting services for its Crawford Nickel project north of Timmons, Ontario, Canada, which is set to be one of the world’s largest nickel operations.
When online, it will help bring needed nickel and cobalt to the rapidly growing electric vehicle market.
Stantec’s scope of work includes preparation of an impact statement, class environmental assessments (Class EAs), supporting technical studies to assess project impacts, and identifying mitigation measures. It will also confirm follow-up programs for the project.
The open-pit nickel-cobalt operation will also recover chromium, palladium and platinum from concentrate streams. In all, Crawford is expected to produce nearly 50,000 tons of nickel annually and operate for over 40 years.
Once in production, the mine is also anticipated to become one of Canada’s largest carbon-storage facilities through sequestration of carbon dioxide over the project life. Canada Nickel has developed “In-Process Tailings Carbonation,” which is expected to enable over 1 million tons of carbon storage annually.
The project has entered the impact statement phase, under the Canadian government’s Impact Assessment Act; this phase concludes with the submission of an impact statement.
“We’re looking forward to working alongside Stantec’s EA and permitting experts on this landmark project,” said Pierre-Philippe Dupont, vice president of sustainability for Canada Nickel Company.
“Their expertise will be invaluable as we move through the approvals process. Crawford is poised to be a leader in the energy transition through our large-scale production of critical minerals, which are invaluable to the electric vehicle revolution and stainless steel markets, while also supporting Canada’s climate objectives through industrial-scale carbon capture and storage.”
Crawford, which Canada Nickel wholly owns, is the company’s flagship asset.
Sources: www.canadanickel.com and Stantec.com