Canada Nickel (TSXV:CNC) - Federal Approval + C$21 Million Funding for Crawford Project

Interview with Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/nickels-next-chapter-tight-supply-steady-demand-and-higher-price-floors-11311

Recording date: 13th August 2026

Canada Nickel Company Inc. (TSXV:CNC) has reached a milestone that few Canadian mining developers achieve: a positive federal decision statement for its 100%-owned Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project, the first project to complete Canada's Impact Assessment Act process from application through to decision since the legislation came into force in 2019. CEO Mark Selby frames the approval as a de-risking event on three fronts: it differentiates Crawford from peer projects still mid-permitting when courting strategic partners; it removes a major source of hesitation for larger institutional investors who had been waiting on permitting clarity; and it strengthens Canada Nickel's standing with government funding bodies already engaging with the company.

That standing is reflected in Crawford's selection as one of five projects referred to the federal Major Projects Office, the earliest-stage project among that group, and as one of three projects named to Ontario's One Project, One Process fast-track framework, alongside a Thunder Bay lithium project and Kinross's Great Bear gold project.

On financing, Selby laid out a capital stack in which government-linked sources do much of the heavy lifting. Of the approximately $1 billion in equity Canada Nickel needs to build Crawford, $600 million is covered by refundable investment tax credits, and a further $100 million comes from a Samsung commitment. The company is working with Scotiabank and Deutsche Bank on an additional $100-200 million through a further project stake sale or structured offtake financing. On the debt side, a letter of intent from Export Development Canada is progressing toward a term sheet, backed by four years of dialogue with global export credit agencies, and a roughly two-month-old mandate with Scandinavian bank SB1 Markets is intended to produce a bridge facility that draws on tax credits during construction rather than after.

The company closed a $20 million financing overnight ahead of this interview, taken up entirely by a single family office, and separately upsized a non-brokered private placement on  from C$15.0 million to up to C$21 million in gross proceeds, scheduled to close around August 28, 2026. Selby flagged further financing initiatives expected in October and November 2026.

With funding in hand, Canada Nickel is moving into detailed engineering and long-lead procurement, targeting a construction decision by mid-2027 and breaking ground by the end of that year, a schedule that has slipped from the year-end 2026 target in Crux's earlier coverage. Seasonal construction constraints in the Abitibi region mean any further delay risks pushing activity into the following year's window.

Beyond Crawford, Selby pointed to the Reid Nickel Sulphide Project, roughly 39 kilometres northwest of Timmins, where August 2026 drilling returned the highest-grade intervals reported to date: 1.01% nickel over 4.5 metres within a broader 576.6-metre interval averaging 0.29% nickel. Reid's current resource stands at 0.87 billion Indicated tonnes and 1.45 billion Inferred tonnes, part of what Selby describes as a wider Timmins Nickel District pipeline behind Crawford.

View Canada Nickel's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/canada-nickel

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