Overview
- Ontario named Crawford the second project under its One Project, One Process framework on Jan. 13, assigning a single provincial contact and targeting a 50% reduction in review times.
- Canada Nickel is aiming to begin construction by the end of 2026 and reach production by late 2028, with the project already referred to the federal Major Projects Office in 2025.
- Crawford, located 42 km north of Timmins, is described as one of the world’s largest nickel resources with a reported 1,715 million tonnes in mineral reserves and plans for a Timmins processing plant and a downstream stainless‑steel/alloy facility.
- Estimated construction costs of US$2.0–2.5 billion rely on provisional packages, including US$500 million from Export Development Canada, another US$500 million from a Canadian agency, and about US$600 million in tax credits, leaving roughly a US$300 million equity gap and potential partial project sale; Samsung SDI holds a 10% option for US$100 million.
- Provincial officials cast the move as bolstering economic sovereignty and reducing reliance on Indonesian supply, projecting up to 2,000 construction jobs, 1,300 direct operating jobs, and $5 billion in total investment, with the company touting projected emissions far below the global average.