Drilling at the Crawford nickel-cobalt project. Canada Nickel Company photo
Canada Nickel Company (TSXV: CNC) is getting a C$24 million ($18 million) boost from Anglo American (LSE: AAL), which intends to acquire a 9.9% minority interest in Canada Nickel.
Canada Nickel’s flagship, 100%-owned project is the Crawford nickel-cobalt mine development in the Timmins mining camp in northern Ontario.
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Anglo is paying C$1.95 per common share of Canada Nickel, a 10% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price.
Anglo will provide technology expertise to the Crawford project and has exclusive right to purchase up to 10% of the nickel concentrate, iron and chromium in the magnetite concentrates, and any corresponding carbon credits from the project.
Canada Nickel has also agreed to enter into a material transfer and technology testing agreement to assess opportunities to add value to Crawford from Anglo’s FutureSmart Mining technology program.
The Crawford project includes one of the largest undeveloped, bulk tonnage nickel sulphide resources in the world.
Last summer, Canada Nickel announced the resource had been doubled with measured and indicated resources totalling 1.4 billion tonnes grading 0.24% nickel and 6.59% iron for 3.48 million tonnes of contained nickel and 93.9 million tonnes of iron. Inferred resources are 670.1 million tonnes grading 0.23% nickel and 6.85% iron for 1.55 million tonnes of nickel and 45.9 million tonnes of iron.
The open pit mine and mill will have a 25-year life after a preproduction capex of $1.2 billion. At peak production in phase 3, the project will produce 42,000 tonnes of nickel per year.
The economics are robust, with the after-tax net present value (8% discount) of $1.2 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of 16%. The project is expected to generate an average free cash flow of $274 million.
Canada Nickel is applying for federal and provincial permits. With success likely, early stages of construction are underway. Impact benefit agreements have been signed with the Taykwa Tagamou Nation and the Mattagami First Nation.
