Canada Nickel

Canada Nickel is the leader in the next generation of nickel supply – large scale, lower grade, open pit nickel sulphide projects with potential for zero carbon production. The 100% owned Flagship Crawford Nickel Sulphide project is the largest nickel sulphide discovery since the 1970s and the second largest nickel reserve and resource globally, located in Timmins, Ontario, an established mining friendly jurisdiction with significant infrastructure. Moreover, a substantial new nickel district has been consolidated through more than 20 transactions and a total of 20 targets, with a total target footprint 25 times the scale of Crawford and further demonstrates the district scale potential of the land package.

Canada Nickel’s Crawford Nickel Sulphide discovery represents the Next Generation of Nickel – large scale, lower grade, open pit nickel sulphide project with potential for zero carbon footprint – well-positioned to deliver the metals needed to power the electric vehicle revolution and feed the high growth stainless steel market. The Company possesses industry leading nickel expertise and is focused on low risk well-established mining jurisdictions. The Company also has a strong shareholder register with Agnico Eagle (11%), Samsung SDI (8.7%) and Anglo American (7.6%) as cornerstone investors.

Crawford hosts a large, scalable Nickel Sulphide resource of 6Mt of contained nickel and a further 4Mt of contained nickel in the inferred category with the potential for zero carbon production. Further, the Company has the ability to sequester and store 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually from its In Process Tailings (IPT) Carbonation process and would therefore be a net negative contributor to the global carbon footprint of 30 tonnes of CO2 storage capacity per tonne of nickel.  

The Timmins Nickel District, consolidated by Canada Nickel has 20+ nickel targets with target geophysical footprint 25 times that of Crawford and has potential to be the world’s largest nickel sulphide district. 

Further, the Company announced on February 8th that it intends to develop a downstream nickel and stainless-steel processing business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, NetZero Metals, targeting production by 2027.  

Timmins Nickel District – Regional Properties

Canada Nickel’s district consolidation positions it to become the leader of the next generation of nickel supply – large, scalable, zero carbon potential – located in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world in proximity to infrastructure.

A substantial new nickel district has been consolidated through more than 20 transactions to acquire or earn into and a total of 20 nickel targets – 42km2 of ultramafic/mag highs  25X the scales of 1.6km2 mag anomaly footprint of Crawford Main Zone (3.8 Mt nickel reserve within 6.0 Mt Measured & Indicated nickel and another 4Mt of contained nickel in the inferred category), and has the potential to be the world’s largest nickel sulphide district.

The Company’s latest drilling has confirmed a large scale discovery at Reid and contains a geophysical target of 3.9 square kilometres, nearly 2.4 times the size of the Flagship Crawford project of 1.6 square kilometres.  Each target has had some amount of historical work, (in some cases, much more than Crawford did initially) confirming that these targets contain the same serpentinized dunite and/or peridotite that hosts the Crawford mineralization with potential to permanently sequester CO2.

Since 2019, fifteen of the sixteen new properties have been successfully drilled. Ten target properties have a larger footprint than Crawford and ten are confirmed to contain the same host mineralization as Crawford, which include Reid, Mann Central, Midlothian, Sothman, Mann Northwest, Reaume, Mann Southeast, Moody, McCool, Newmarket. All located in close proximity to existing infrastructure to help minimise carbon footprint.

• 147 of 157 drillholes (+55 km), 94% success rate in intersecting target mineralization
• Reid property - achieved best drill interval to date with 687 metres of 0.27% nickel, including 36.0 metres of 0.41% nickel and 7.5 metres of 0.56% nickel

With six drill rigs now operating, the Company expects a steady flow of drill results from across its exploration portfolio. The Company is targeting delivery of seven additional resources by Q2-2025 and six further discoveries, unlocking the regional exploration potential of the Timmins Nickel District.

The Company has also added near term, open pit production potential to its land package with the acquisition of the Texmont property, located 36km south of Timmins and is a past producing mine with a historic resource estimate of 3.2 million tonnes grading 0.9% nickel. The Texmont property contains an ultramafic body with a geophysical footprint of 1.2km by 150 metres wide. The Company is aiming to put out a resource and PEA on Texmont this year and production is targeted for 2025. This further demonstrates the district scale potential of these properties.

Net Zero Metals

The Company has announced on February 8th that it intends to develop a downstream nickel and stainless-steel processing business through its wholly owned subsidiary, NetZero Metals, targeting production by 2027. 

Net Zero Metals is expected to be the largest nickel processing facility in North America and largest stainless-steel and alloy production facility in Canada to fill a key gap in the North American electric vehicle supply chain – utilizing proven, low environmental footprint technology. Each production facility is expected to use Canada Nickel’s carbon storage capacity at its Crawford Nickel project to deliver zero carbon nickel and stainless steel and alloy production. Currently at the site-selection stage, considering several sites in the region.

The Company has appointed SMS, Metso and Ausenco to lead the engineering studies for the facilities.  Feasibility studies are underway and expected to be completed by year-end, with the nickel processing plant expected to begin production by 2027.

NetZero Metals will be led by Mike Cox – 35 years of nickel processing experience and senior leadership positions with Inco Ltd. And Vale SA overseeing a global portfolio of nickel refineries. Mike has assembled a global experienced team. Funding for each project expected to come from various government programs (Federal/provincial/DOD) and potential partners (multiple discussions underway).

Carbon Storage – IPT Carbonation Process

Crawford hosts a large, scalable Nickel Sulphide resource of 6Mt and a further 4Mt of contained nickel in the inferred category with the potential for zero carbon production. Further, the Company has the ability to sequester and store 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually from its In Process Tailings (IPT) Carbonation process – using tailings directly as they come out of the flotation circuit and treating it with CO2. Crawford would therefore be a net negative contributor to the global carbon footprint of 30 tonnes of CO2 storage capacity per tonne of nickel. 

Government of Canada - Tax Credits

The Government of Canada delivered the 2023 federal budget and announced a 30% tax credit towards companies exploring for critical mineral within Canada to support the energy transition economy, which will directly benefit Canada Nickel. In addition, the federal government is also allocating tax credits towards carbon storage and carbon sequestration. A portion of project capital expenditures to become eligible for carbon capture and storage - refundable investment tax credits of 37.5% to 60% for years 2022-2030 and 18.75% to 30% for years 2031-2040. Canada Nickel has incorporated carbon storage and IPT into the Bankable Feasibility Study, which came out in October 2023.

Well-funded

The Company has attracted strategic investors earlier this year, with Agnico Eagle investing CAD$35 million into the Company, as announced on January 2nd 2024. Subsequently on January 12th, 2024, it was announced that Samsung SDI also took a strategic investment of USD$18.5 million. The Company now has Agnico Eagle (11%), Samsung SDI (8.7%), and Anglo American (7.6%) as cornerstone investors.  The Company remains well funded with no debt and C$51 million in cash (as of April 30, 2024).

Upcoming Catalysts

The Company has secured two strategic investors this year with Agnico Eagle and Samsing SDI in addition to Anglo American investing last year. The Company will look to complete a funding package for Crawford by year end (offtake, debt equity) led by Cutfield Freeman as its debt advisor for the project finance and Deutsche Bank and Scotia Bank for the equity component. 

A significant catalyst this year will be the completion of an offtake agreement. The Company will also generate significant news flow from additional catalysts, below:

• $35 Million Flow Through (Completed)
• Samsung SDI Investment (Completed)
• Offtake Agreement
• Texmont Resource & PEA
• First Nations Definitive Agreements
• Continued Systematic District Exploration
• Environmental Impact Statement
• First Nations Definitive Agreements
• Crawford Funding Package (Offtake, Equity, Debt)