Canada Nickel to use Glencore’s Kidd Concentrator
TORONTO – Canada Nickel Company Inc. has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Glencore Canada Corporation to examine the potential use of Glencore’s Kidd concentrator and metallurgical site in Timmins, Ontario for the treatment and processing of material mined from Canada Nickel’s 100% owned Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project.
Crawford is located 40 km north of Glencore’s operations.
“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,” said Mark Selby, Chair and CEO of Canada Nickel.
Canada Nickel has completed an initial high-level assessment and will now proceed with a detailed study on the potential for upgrading excess capacity at the Kidd Concentrator and/or utilizing the existing infrastructure in place at the Kidd Met Site for milling and further processing the nickel-cobalt and magnetite concentrates that are expected to be produced from Crawford.
Should the study deliver a positive outcome for both parties, the parties will continue good faith negotiations towards a binding agreement. The MOU is non-exclusive. This detailed study is expected to be completed by the end of March 2021.
Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. currently retained as the lead study consultant for the Crawford Preliminary Economic Assessment that is underway, has been engaged to support the assessment of the Kidd Met Site facilities.
Located in Timmins, Ontario, Glencore Canada Corporation operates the Kidd Operations consisting of the Kidd Metallurgical Site and the Kidd Mine. The Concentrator is located on the property of the Kidd Metallurgical Site (Kidd Met Site).
The Kidd Met Site is located 27 km east of Timmins, Ontario in the Townships of Hoyle and Matheson, within the Timmins City Limits. Built in 1966 with numerous upgrades over the years, the Concentrator currently processes metal ore to produce copper and zinc concentrates.
The facility has a design rated capacity of 12,500 tonne-per-day and is fully permitted with water taking and discharge permits and thickened tailings storage. The site has incoming and outgoing rail service via Ontario Northland Railway.
