Under the terms of the MOU, the Taykwa Tagamou Nation will seek favourable financing terms to participate in the financing of all or a portion of the heavy mining equipment fleet required for Crawford.

Training and associated employment opportunities will also be available where specialised maintenance and operation is required for the equipment and where equipment is financed or owned in whole or in part by the First Nation.

"Our first set of discussions were around electrical transmission and they expressed that they want to build sustainable businesses beyond the specific mining project, which was a refreshing approach to things," Canada Nickel chair and CEO Mark Selby told Mining Journal.

"With the equipment fleet, they realise they have access to financing sources with groups keen to deploy capital alongside them at lower overall cost than we can obtain, and so by sharing that benefit with them it allows us to potentially save some cost and reduce our up-front capital for what is a big-ticket item.

"Mining fleets run into the multi-hundred millions of dollars and if we can reduce the down payment as part of our financial structure, we could pull out US$50-100 million of initial capital from the first year or two and spread it out over entire mine life."

Chief of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Bruce Archibald said the community was proud of its innovative approach to business development partnerships.

"Our most recent MOU with Canada Nickel is no exception," he said.

"Canada Nickel continues to set a precedent by ensuring First Nation communities who have the financial backing to reduce capital start-up costs are not just those that need to be consulted with but rather are true business partners that will benefit their communities and the Northern Ontario economy writ-large."

With Canada Nickel aiming to produce zero carbon nickel, the mobile mining fleet is likely to be comprised of electric shovels and trolley-assisted haul trucks to leverage the benefit of the availability of hydroelectric power.

The MOU complements the Taykwa Tagamou Nation's economic development strategy and marks a step away from the rigid limitations of impact benefit agreements which typically govern the economic relationship between mining projects and Canada's First Nations, to a relationship where the First Nation has a true seat at the table and is an active participant in a project to be developed within its territory.

In December 2020 the Taykwa Tagamou Nation and Canada Nickel announced the First Nation had arranged access to capital so that it could own and develop the electrical transmission assets that would supply Crawford.

The Canada Nickel announcement follows news last week from the other side of the country that the Tahltan Central Government in British Columbia agreed to invest C$5 million in gold junior Skeena Resources as that First Nation deepens its partnership with a mine developer.

"The Tahltan Nation is evolving and taking significant steps forward by becoming meaningful equity partners in these projects. Ownership provides the Tahltan Nation with a strong seat at the table as we continue our pursuit towards capacity building and economic independence for the Tahltan people," said Tahltan Central Government president Chad Norman Day.

This latest agreement sees another piece fall into place for Canada Nickel's plans for Crawford, where it plans to complete a preliminary economic assessment in April and a feasibility by year end. Earlier this year it signed a non-binding MOU with Glencore to use excess capacity at its Canada's Kidd concentrator in Timmins, Ontario. The ability to use the Kidd concentrator could slash the initial capital from $1 billion to $100 million.

"The analysis into the capital and operating cost of retrofitting an existing line at the mill has gone well and there are natural synergies with their tailings facility as out tails can improve the [acid generating] footprint of their tailings. There is a real enough benefit here to Glencore and us," said Selby.

Crawford hosts 11.56 million tonnes nickel, 83,800t cobalt, 44Mt iron and 107,000oz palladium and 56,000oz platinum across all resource categories.

Shares in Canada Nickel are trading at C$3.29, valuing the company at $264 million.