Canada Nickel’s Crawford Project is hosted in ultramafic rock, which naturally absorbs and sequesters CO2. Canada Nickel has developed the novel IPT Carbonation process which involves injecting a concentrated source of CO2 into tailings generated by the milling process for a brief period of time. This simple process captures CO2 geologically in the tailings while they are still in the processing circuit, rather than after they have been finally deposited.

Designed to become one of Canada’s largest carbon storage facilities with 1.5 Mtpa carbon captured and stored during peak period. More than 34 tonnes of carbon captured and stored per tonne of nickel over project life. After reducing Crawford’s minimal carbon footprint to net zero, there will be in excess of 30 tonnes storage capacity per tonne of nickel produced that can be sold.

• Existing pyrometallurgical processes such as roasting, sulphation roasting, and reduction using electric arc furnaces (utilizing natural gas rather than coke or coal as a reductant) with the off gases captured and re-routed to allow the CO2 to be captured by the waste rock and tailings.
• Existing hydrometallurgical processes such as the Albion or other similar processes to produce products which generate minimal off-gases. The off-gases will again be captured and treated to ensure CO2 and SO2 emissions are minimized.
• Production of iron products utilizing existing direct reduced iron (DRI) processes or reduction in electric arc furnaces utilizing natural gas.