Mining company says Timmins could supplant Sudbury as global nickel capital
Deposits being explored in the Timmins area could become major source of high-quality nickel for the electric car battery market.
That's the word from officials with Canada Nickel, which is working on developing its Crawford deposit. It's also excited about another find, the Reid Property, located 16 kilometres southwest of Crawford, or 37 kilometres northwest of Timmins.
Mark Selby, Canada Nickel CEO and director, told a news conference this week that deposits in the area have the potential to become one of the largest sources of nickel for EV batteries in the world.
"We're really talking about building one of the world's largest nickel sulfide districts, you know, potentially larger than Sudbury," Selby said Tuesday.
"(We're) in a point in time where the market is desperate for large-scale, scalable low-carbon sources of nickel to be able to have a nickel for the electric vehicles that everybody would like to produce over the next few months."
That's important as demand for electric cars – and nickel – increases, putting the squeeze on supply. He said nickel production at Vale in Ontario and Manitoba has plummeted in the last 15 years as viable ore deposits become harder to find.
"Production at Inco Sudbury, has, you know, fallen dramatically since the Vale took it over in 2007," Selby said.
"Production at Thompson (Manitoba mine) is 75 per cent lower than where it was in 2007."
While production globally is stagnant, he said demand is about to sharply increase.
"Nickel is about to go through one of its supercycles, as we get this large new source of demand from the electric vehicle market," he said.
The deposits contain low-carbon nickel that customers are demanding, as opposed to nickel from China or Indonesia. And with agreements in place with First Nations in the area, they are well-positioned to supply the EV market.
"The auto industry is not going to depend on Chinese-controlled supply," Selby said.
"Given the fact that the adoption rate of electric vehicles is well ahead of what most people had expectations-wise just a few years ago, we really do need to double (global nickel) supply."
And the tailings from the extracted nickel actually absorbs carbon, he said. Within a year, he said it forms into a substance that absorbs carbon.
"That rock reaches out to the atmosphere, grabs a CO2 molecule and permanently sequesters that carbon in a mineral called magnesite," Selby said.
"We think this is a very, very big breakthrough in terms of being able to capture carbon globally."
Longer-term, he expects Canada Nickel will attract interest from major mining companies, making the comparison with Noront Resources, recently bought by Wyloo Metals.
"We had a massive bidding war for Noront earlier this year," Selby said.
"We're obviously one of those new deposits that are out there and we expect to get some pretty significant interest from the majors as we move forward."
See Selby's full presentation here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.