Stantec chosen for Crawford Nickel Project
Canada Nickel Company (CNC) has announced that it has chosen Stantec to provide environmental consulting services for the company’s Crawford Nickel Project, located north of Timmins.
The project is expected to be one of the largest nickel sulfide operations in the world, and will help deliver nickel and cobalt for use in electric vehicles.
Stantec will prepare an impact statement, class environmental assessments (Class EAs), and the supporting technical studies to assess project impacts, identify mitigation measures, and confirm follow-up programs for the project.
CNC has proposed to construct, operate, and eventually decommission the open-pit nickel-cobalt mine, located in Timmins’ Nickel District.
In addition to nickel, the company expected to recover other metals such as cobalt, chromium, palladium, and platinum from concentrate streams. The project is expected to produce nearly 50,000 tons of nickel annually and operate for over 40 years.
Once in production, the mine is expected to become one of Canada’s largest carbon-storage facilities through sequestration of carbon dioxide over the project life. Canada Nickel’s in-process tailings carbonation process is expected to enable over 1 million tons of carbon storage annually.
“Stantec is excited to be part of this critical minerals project, and to leverage our unique technical and regulatory experience for CNC,” said Chris Powell, senior environmental planner at Stantec. “Our talented team of environmental assessment practitioners, who offer both national mining sector experience and local knowledge, will lead and prepare the Impact Statement through the regulatory approvals process and toward its next milestone of obtaining permits.”
The project has entered the impact statement phase, under the federal government’s Impact Assessment Act. This phase concludes with the submission of an Impact Statement, a document that identifies and assesses the potential impacts of a project and the measures proposed to mitigate those effects.
“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.”
Stantec has provide environmental services experience for a variety of mining projects across Canada, including Generation PGM’s Marathon Palladium-Copper Project.