SPC Nickel signs deal with Vale to consolidate, develop Sudbury-area nickel-copper deposits
With electric vehicles expected to drive a boom in global nickel demand, Vale has signed an agreement with a junior miner in Sudbury to develop nickel-copper deposits in the area.
SPC Nickel Corp.’s agreement with Vale will consolidate SPC’s West Graham deposit with Vale’s Crean Hill 3 deposit.
The properties are adjacent to the former Lockerby and Crean Hill mines, about 20 km southwest of Sudbury and Vale’s Clarabelle Mill in the Sudbury Mining Camp.
The agreement gives SPC Nickel the right to acquire a 100 per cent interest in the surface and mineral rights of Crean Hill 3. In exchange, Vale receives certain rights and royalties to minerals mined from both properties.
Specifically, Vale will receive 37 per cent of net profits and has the right of first refusal for any ore produced from the project. Vale also has the first chance to purchase the properties should SPC want to sell any part of their holdings down the road.
SPC must also produce a feasibility study on the project by 2026. The full details of the agreement can be found here.
“The signing of this agreement with Vale represents a transformative growth opportunity for SPC Nickel and its shareholders,” SPC CEO Grant Mourre said in a news release announcing the agreement.
Mourre said negotiations with Vale have been ongoing for 12 months to find an agreement that benefited both parties.
“The consolidated West Graham and Crean Hill 3 deposits give SPC Nickel, as operator, the ability to optimize synergies during the exploration, development and production stages of the project,” he said.
“We are very excited about the opportunities that this agreement brings to SPC Nickel and are looking forward to getting drills turning on the property in 2023.”
Infrastructure already exists for developing the deposits, including haul roads and high-voltage electrical power.
Mourre said consolidating West Graham and Crean Hill 3 gives SPC the chance “to significantly grow the West Graham deposit into a high-quality nickel-copper asset in one of the top nickel mining camps in the world.”
“Our recently completed drill program at West Graham has provided the technical team with a firm understanding of the types of mineralization we expect to define on the Crean Hill 3 property,” he said.
“More importantly, the controls on mineralization that we expect to guide us to higher-grade opportunities across the combined project.”
The West Graham deposit is located on SPC’s Lockerby East property. Historic estimates put the unmined near-surface West Graham nickel-copper deposit at more than 47,000 tonnes of nickel and 34,000 tonnes of copper.
“These grades have economic potential in the context of the Sudbury Mining Camp, as the deposit is located very near to surface and may be amenable to low-cost open pit mining,” the SPC news release said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.