A detailed study for potential use of the site is expected to be completed by the end of March 2021
Glencore’s Kidd metallurgical site in Timmins, Ontario. (Credit: P199/Wikipedia.org)
Canada Nickel will explore the use of Glencore’s Kidd concentrator and metallurgical site in Timmins, Ontario, Canada for the treatment and processing of material extracted from its Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project.
In this connection, the company has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Glencore Canada.
The Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project, which is 100% owned by Canada Nickel, is located in the heart of the Timmins-Cochrane mining camp. It is situated 40km north of Glencore Canada’s operations.
Canada Nickel chair and CEO Mark Selby said: “The opportunity to utilize the excess capacity and existing infrastructure at the Kidd Met Site provides the potential to allow a faster, simpler, smaller scale start-up of Crawford at a vastly lower capital cost while the Company continues to permit and develop the much larger scale project currently being contemplated.
“Given the potential for this significant change in the scope of the project start-up, the release of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will be delayed until the end of March 2021 to allow this option, if successful, to be incorporated.”
Canada Nickel completed initial high-level assessment for the site
Canada Nickel said that it has finished an initial high-level assessment and will now move ahead with a detailed study on the possibility for upgrading excess capacity at the Kidd concentrator.
The company may also look to explore the potential of using the existing infrastructure at the Kidd metallurgical site for milling and further processing the future nickel-cobalt and magnetite concentrates produced from the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project.
If the study provides a positive outcome for the two companies, then the MOU will be advanced to a binding agreement.
Canada Nickel expects to complete the detailed study by the end of March 2021.
Ausenco Engineering Canada, which is serving as the lead study consultant for the PEA of the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project, has also been engaged to support the study of the Kidd metallurgical site facilities.