Canada Nickel Launches Wholly Owned Subsidiary NetZero Metals Inc. To Develop CO₂-Free Production Of Nickel, Cobalt And Iron

Toronto, ON / PRNewswire / - Canada Nickel Company Inc. (TSX-V: CNC) (“ Canada Nickel ” or the “ Company ”) is pleased to announce that it has established a wholly owned subsidiary, NetZero Metals , to begin research and development of a processing site to be located in Timmins, Ontario region , to use existing technologies to produce nickel, cobalt-based products. and iron without CO ₂ emissions.

The company asked to obtain trademarks for terms NetZero Nickel ^TM , NetZero Cobalt ^TM and NetZero Iron ^TM in the United States, Canada and other jurisdictions in connection with the production of nickel-based products, cobalt and iron without CO ₂ emissions .

“The EV industry and many other consumer goods sectors need zero-carbon metal this decade - not at a vague 2050 deadline envisioned by many other resource companies,” says Mark Selby , CEO of Canada Nickel.

"Given the unique strengths that the Timmins region offers with its close proximity to zero carbon hydropower and our Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project, which largely includes serpentine which naturally absorbs CO ₂ when it is comes into contact with the air, Canada Nickel has the potential to develop the zero carbon products our customers expect from the mining industry. With nickel being the metal of choice to fuel the clean energy revolution, our commitment to zero carbon production is the right choice for the environment, consumers and our investors. "

Serpentine, the host rock that constitutes over 90 percent of the resource mass at the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulfide Project ¹ , has been the subject of numerous studies which have shown that this rock naturally absorbs carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) when in contact with air thanks to a natural process of spontaneous mineral carbonation.

The nickel industry faces a number of challenges as the current processing approach based on laterite and sulphide ores has a large environmental footprint in the form of SO ₂ and CO ₂ emissions. . These ecological challenges will only intensify given the supply profile of the sector, with most of the recent growth in nickel supply and the main source of future production growth being the production of pig iron. nickel in Indonesia which, according to industry sources, uses 25 to 30 tons of coal to produce a single ton of nickel, which, together with other sources of CO ₂, generates around 90 tons of Category 1 and Category 2 per tonne of nickel produced (see Figure 1).

For a battery module in an electric vehicle that contained 50 kg of nickel from this source, that would represent around 4 tonnes of CO ₂ emissions for that vehicle. Other sources of growth in nickel supply that present problems in terms of an additional environmental footprint are the High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) projects in Indonesia which consider technologies such as high tailings landfill. sea, which would correspond to a discharge into the oceans of about 100 tonnes of material per tonne of nickel.

Main technologies under review for zero carbon operations
Canada Nickel will examine the use of several other solutions to achieve its NetZero goals at every stage of its mining process: extraction, milling and processing.

Extraction
The only major technology to reduce the carbon footprint of mining is the use as much as possible of electric winch excavators and trolley trucks that use electricity, instead of diesel, as their power source. . Given the close proximity to zero-carbon hydropower generation capacities, the use of electricity instead of diesel has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions.

The elimination of waste rock and tailings during the extraction process will also allow serpentine to come into contact with air, which should allow this material to absorb CO ₂ via natural mineral carbonation and offset CO ₂ emissions from the project. The precise amount and speed with which CO ₂ can be absorbed by material mined at Crawford will be analyzed in the very next phases of the work.

Grinding
Usually, the large-scale processing of lower grade sulphides requires a significant amount of electricity. Here again, the geographical proximity to hydropower offers the potential to minimize carbon emissions for this stage of production.

NetZero Metals - processing of nickel-cobalt concentrate
Existing processes for treating nickel-cobalt concentrates to remove sulfur, iron and other impurities have generated significant amounts of CO ₂ , SO ₂ and other impurities for a number of producers around the world.

Canada Nickel will explore the possibility of producing nickel and cobalt products using current pyrometallurgical processes such as roasting, sulphation roasting and reduction using electric arc furnaces (using natural gas instead of coke or coal as a reducing agent), with the gases emitted being captured and rerouted to allow the CO 2 to be captured by the waste rock and tailings of the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project 1. The company will also examine existing hydrometallurgical processes to produce nickel and cobalt based products like Albion or other similar processes, which generate little waste gas to produce nickel and cobalt based products. These gaseous effluents will again be captured and treated to ensure that CO ₂ and SO ₂ emissions are reduced as much as possible.

NetZero Metals - treatment of magnetite concentrate
The company will explore the possibility of producing iron-based products using current pre-reduced iron (DRI) or reduction processes in electric arc furnaces using natural gas before it is rerouted to allow the CO ₂ to enter. be captured by waste rock and residues from the repository.

Next steps
The company will be announcing changes in management within the board of directors to help guide the company in this important project. The NetZero approach will be incorporated into the work carried out for the engineering of the preliminary economic assessment which has already been announced and which is currently underway. Specific studies to analyze the amount and timing of CO ₂ uptake by the host rock at Crawford and the design of processes for downstream processing of nickel and cobalt materials and magnetite concentrate will be announced and implemented. implemented throughout the end of the year.

¹ The Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project is an early phase exploration and development project. There is no guarantee that this project will reach the advanced development or production phase. The economic viability and technical feasibility of the Company's Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project have not been established to a level of confidence supported by a PEA, PFS or FS and, therefore, there is currently no evidence showing that this project will have a “zero carbon” footprint. The company is currently planning to complete a PEA by the end of 2020.

About Canada Nickel Company
Canada Nickel Company Inc. promotes the next generation of nickel-cobalt sulphide projects to deliver the nickel and cobalt needed to power electric vehicles and the growing stainless steel markets. Canadian Nickel Company has filed applications in several jurisdictions in order to drop the terms NetZero Nickel ^TM , NetZero Cobalt ^TM and NetZero Iron ^TM and is busy developing methods for the production of nickel-based products, cobalt and iron without CO ₂ emissions. Canada Nickel allows investors to mine nickel and cobalt in low political risk jurisdictions. Canada Nickel currently has its flagship 100% owned Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulfide Project in the heart of the prolific Timmins- Cochrane mining camp .

Warning regarding forward-looking statements
This press release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, drilling results in connection with the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulfide Project, the timing of economic studies, the potential of the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulfide Project, the potential development production of nickel, cobalt and iron without CO ₂ emissions, strategic plans, including future results of exploration and development, and corporate and technical objectives. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of assumptions which, while believed to be reasonable, are accompanied by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from actual results. future events and those which had been expressed or suggested in such forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect results include, but are not limited to: future prices and supply of metals, future demand for metals, drilling results, inability to raise the necessary funds to cover required expenses to conserve and develop assets, environmental responsibilities (known and unknown), general uncertainties concerning the activities, economy, competition, political and social situation, results of exploration programs, when the updated estimate of resources will arrive, risks in the mining sector, delays in obtaining government approvals, and inability to obtain approvals from regulators or shareholders. There can be no assurance that this information will be accurate, since actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in the statements. Therefore, the reader should not rely excessively on these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date they were made and are based on the opinions and estimates of management and on information available to management as of such date. Canada Nickel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether new information, future events or anything, except as required by law.