Stantec to provide environmental consulting for Crawford Nickel Project
Stantec, an Edmonton-headquartered design and engineering consultancy, has won a contract from Canada Nickel Company (CNC) to provide environmental consulting services for the Crawford Nickel Project north of Timmins, ON.
Stantec will be tasked with preparing an impact statement, class environmental assessments, and supporting technical studies for project impacts, mitigation measures, and follow-up programs.
CNC plans to construct and operate an open-pit nickel-cobalt mine in Ontario’s mature Timmins Nickel District, with an expected annual yield of nearly 50,000 tons of nickel. The mine is also expected to become one of Canada’s largest carbon storage facilities, with estimated annual storage of over 1 million tons of carbon.
Canada Nickel Company (TSXV: CNC) markets itself a sustainable nickel firm that can provide investors with nickel access in low political risk jurisdictions. The firm has applied to trademark the terms NetZero Nickel, NetZero Cobalt, and NetZero Iron.
“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.”
Nickel production in Canada has decreased every year since 2016, falling from 230,210 tones in 2016 to 143,226 tones in 2022, according to stats from Natural Resources Canada. Ontario accounts for half of Canadian nickel production, driven by legacy mines run by the former Inco, which was acquired by Brazilian megacorp Vale in 2006 for $16 billion.
Nickel is primarily used as a component in stainless steel production (64% of usage), though its importance to electric vehicle battery production (15%) is the popularly cited "green transition" use case.
Indonesia produces nearly half of global nickel (48.6%), with Canada in sixth place, producing 4.3% as of 2022.
“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.”
The Crawford project is currently in the impact statement phase, which concludes with submission of a document identifying and assessing potential impacts of a project and proposed measures to mitigate effects.
Stantec’s recent mining project work includes advising Generation PGM’s Marathon Palladium-Copper Project in Ontario and leading the environmental baseline program for First Mining Gold’s proposed Duparquet Gold Project in Quebec.
