Canada Nickel takes important step in Crawford Nickel Project Permitting Process

“This is an important first step in the permitting process for Crawford," Mark Selby, Chair & CEO of Canada Nickel said. " Since the founding of the Company, our approach has been to work with Indigenous communities and local stakeholders as partners in order to create shared value through economic opportunities, while also being respectful and responsible stewards of the natural environment.  These ground-breaking Impact Assessment Agreements foster full participation of Indigenous Communities in the federal Impact Assessment process for the development of the Crawford Nickel Project.”

Canada Nickel announced submission of the preliminary draft of the Initial Project Description (“IPD”) to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (“the Agency”) following the related signing of ground-breaking Impact Assessment Process Agreements (“Impact Assessment Agreements” or “IA Agreements”) with Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Matachewan First Nation, and Mattagami First Nation.


“Taykwa Tagamou Nation is proud of the partnership we have with Canada Nickel. This innovative model of applying Traditional Knowledge through a land use study enables our community to both understand the project’s impacts through all stages of its life cycle, while ensuring that, as the stewards of our Traditional Territory, development is conducted in an environmentally sustainable manner”, said Chief Bruce Archibald.

“True Indigenous partnerships, such as ours with Canada Nickel, provide certainty for proponents, along with economic opportunity for Northern Ontario and impacted Indigenous communities,” said Deputy Chief Derek Archibald. “With this certainty, Taykwa Tagamou Nation is meaningfully participating in the project’s economic development from beginning to end”.

Chief Chad Boissoneau, of Mattagami First Nation, commented “Agreements of this nature, built upon honest and genuine relationships, benefit both the First Nation and the Proponent. First Nations can fully participate in the Impact Assessment of a major project on our Traditional Land, while supporting Canada Nickel in making properly informed, sustainable, and respectful decisions about a project that stands to be of great benefit to our community.”

An Important Step for the Crawford Nickel Project

The submission of the preliminary draft of the IPD to the Agency initiates a precursory review period of the document. This review period, coinciding with Canada Nickel’s independent Indigenous and public consultation program for the IPD, will enable Canada Nickel to integrate feedback from both the Agency’s review and Canada Nickel’s engagement activities into the final draft of the IPD, expected to be formally submitted in summer 2022.

The Impact Assessment process is a planning and decision-making tool used by regulators, Indigenous communities, the general public, stakeholders, and proponents to emphasize the positive benefits and resolve or mitigate the potential impacts of a proposed major project. The IPD is a key phase in the early planning and development of a modern mining project.

Impact Assessment Process Agreements

The signing and implementation of the IA Agreements further validates the meaningful and productive relationships developed between Canada Nickel and Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Matachewan First Nation, and Mattagami First Nation, and serves as tangible evidence of Canada Nickel’s intention around full integration of Indigenous communities into the development of the Crawford Nickel Project.

The IA Agreements are intended to foster full participation of Indigenous communities in the federal Impact Assessment process, with a focus on community driven completion of Traditional Knowledge and Land Use and Socio-economic studies. In addition to outlining effective communication channels and platforms for meaningful engagement, the IA Agreements facilitate tangible capacity building within the communities that will extend beyond the timeline of and activities relating to the Crawford Project and Canada Nickel, including the hiring and training of a dedicated Impact Assessment Coordinator and the creation of an Impact Assessment Coordination Committee, comprised of representative, interested community members, including youth and elders.

About Canada Nickel

Canada Nickel Company Inc. is advancing the next generation of nickel-cobalt sulphide projects to deliver nickel and cobalt required to feed the high growth electric vehicle and stainless-steel markets. Canada Nickel Company has successfully registered and applied for trademarks in various jurisdictions for NetZero Nickel™, NetZero Cobalt™ and NetZero Iron™ and is pursuing the development of processes to allow the production of net zero carbon nickel, cobalt, and iron products. Canada Nickel provides investors with leverage to nickel and cobalt in low political risk jurisdictions. Canada Nickel is currently anchored by its 100% owned flagship Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project in the heart of the prolific Timmins-Cochrane mining camp. For more information, please visitwww.canadanickel.com.

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