Canada Nickel Appoints Financial Advisors, Reaches Permitting Milestone

Canada Nickel (TSXV: CNC) (OTCQX: CNIKF) announced that it has engaged Deutche Bank and Scotiabank as financial advisors for the equity part of the project financing for their Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project (Crawford).

Mark Selby, Chair & CEO of Canada Nickel made some comments on the deal:

“As we move into the next phase of advancing Crawford towards production, we are pleased to engage two of the world’s leading investment banks with a broad base of mining and industrial expertise, Scotiabank and Deutsche Bank, to advise the Company on alternatives for the equity portion of the project financing for Crawford.  We are also pleased to announce that our team has completed another significant permitting milestone on the critical path towards production, by filing the detailed project description with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada earlier this week. We continue to target receipt of permits by mid-2025 with construction to immediately follow.”

We’ve recently made a detailed report about the nickel market, where we address a looming long-term supply shortage, pointing out Canada playing a key role in the global nickel supply chain.  You can read the report here, and watch the summary video below:

At the time of this writing, Nickel is trading at US $28,103 per tonne mark, with sentiment improving on news of China easing COVID restrictions. On the supply side, Indonesia has been ramping up supply and now represents approximately 50% of global supplies.

Advisory (What’s Happening)?

Canada Nickel has been in discussions with several strategic and industry players over the past 2 years. With the upcoming completion of the feasibility study, the company is focusing on project financing and permitting to ensure they have their financing package is in place as they receive their project permits. They are anticipating getting their permits mid 2025.

Deutsche Bank and Scotiabank will assist Canada Nickel with evaluating strategic and financial alternatives for the equity part of project financing. The financial advisors will also assist the company in defense advisory and planning. The company is also in discussions with multiple groups and expects to appoint an advisor for the debt portion of the project financing g in early 2023.

Filing of Detailed Project Description

Following Canada Nickel’s August 2022 submission of the Initial Project Description, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) conducted a round of consultation with Indigenous communities, the public, and various federal and provincial authorities before supplying Canada Nickel with the Summary of Issues in September.

After reviewing the Summary of Issues, Canada Nickel is pleased to announce the filing of the Detailed Project Description (DPD) and the Response to the Summary of Issues, a significant step in progressing the federal Impact Assessment Process for the Crawford Project.