Mining Press Roundup: Canada Nickel Wins Federal Approval for Crawford Nickel Mine

Canada Nickel secured federal approval to proceed with its Crawford polymetallic mine in Ontario, marking the first mining project authorized under the federal Impact Assessment Act since it came into force in 2019.

The federal government confirmed Friday that it has approved plans for the Crawford Nickel Project, a project estimated to add up to $70 billion to Canada's GDP. The decision represents a watershed moment for Canadian critical minerals development and could accelerate permitting for other projects stuck in regulatory review.

Canada Nickel: Federal Approval Breaks Permitting Logjam

Crawford, located about 40 kilometres north of Timmins in Northeastern Ontario, contains the world's second largest nickel reserve, and is expected to be the biggest nickel mine in the Western world once it is built.

Ottawa referred the project to its Major Projects Office in late 2025 to accelerate permitting, while Ontario earlier this year designated Crawford under its "One Project, One Process" (1P1P) fast-track permit framework.

Crawford is one of the largest nickel deposits in the world and, once operational, would have a mine ore production capacity of 240,000 tonnes per day and a mill ore input capacity of 120,000 tonnes per day.

The Company has established significant Indigenous partnerships, including a $20 million equity investment by Taykwa Tagamou Nation – the largest known First Nation investment in a critical minerals project in Canada.

The approval comes as Western nations scramble to secure domestic sources of battery metals. Located in the Timmins Nickel District in northeastern Ontario, Crawford is expected to be one of the world's largest nickel sulphide projects and is designed to produce low-carbon nickel while incorporating proprietary carbon mineralization technologies capable of permanently storing carbon dioxide.

Cameco: Westinghouse Files for U.S. IPO

Westinghouse Electric Company, one of the most storied names in the American power industry, has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, it said on Friday, joining a wave of nuclear companies looking to tap capital markets.

The nuclear technology and services supplier, which is jointly owned by Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners, is one of the few remaining lines of the original business founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. After several rounds of restructurings and changes in ownership over the last few decades, Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners bought Westinghouse Electric in a $7.9 billion deal in 2023.

Investor enthusiasm for nuclear firms has strengthened in the past year as Big Tech's rapid data center buildout boosts U.S. power demand.

Westinghouse Electric Company, which provides reactor technology to more than half of the world's nuclear power plants, filed confidentially for a US initial public offering.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, Westinghouse said.

The IPO filing comes as uranium markets remain strong, with the URA uranium ETF trading at $38.80 on Friday, according to market data, though down 2.3% on the day.

Perpetua Resources: Antimony Pilot Plant Opens in Idaho

Perpetua Resources, the U.S. Army and Idaho National Laboratory announced Thursday the opening of a new modular mineral processing plant designed to help establish an end-to-end domestic supply chain for antimony.

Antimony is designated as a critical mineral essential to U.S. national and economic security. It is a vital component in ammunition, defense systems, energy storage, and high-tech manufacturing, but faces heavy import reliance from Asian markets.

Located at the INL in Idaho Falls, the modular mineral pilot plant is designed to utilize antimony samples from Perpetua's Stibnite Gold project in central Idaho, which aims to add antimony to the US supply chain.

The plant will operate 24 hours a day, processing approximately one ton of material per day.

Since 2022, Perpetua has been awarded over $87 million from the U.S. Department of War and the U.S. Army to advance the Project and America's antimony supply.

After more than a decade of scientific study, engineering, environmental review, and stakeholder engagement, the Project received its final federal approvals in 2025 and advanced into early works construction. Early works activities are underway, including infrastructure improvements that will support full-scale development.

Anglo American: Executives Claim Top Roles in Teck Merger

Anglo American executives will hold three of Anglo Teck's four top jobs after the $53-billion all-share merger with Teck Resources closes next year. Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad will lead the group, with John Heasley as chief financial officer and Ruben Fernandes as chief operating officer. Teck CEO Jonathan Price will become deputy CEO and chief strategy officer.

Together, we are forming a global metals and minerals powerhouse offering investors more than 70% exposure to copper.

These future ELT roles will take effect immediately following completion of the merger which is conditional upon receipt of final regulatory approval, expected within the originally announced timeline of between September 2026 and March 2027.

The leadership announcement signals Anglo's dominant position in the combined entity, despite the merger being structured as an all-share deal. When the merger is complete, Anglo American's current chief executive Duncan Wanblad will lead the combined group, which will be headquartered in Vancouver.

NGEx Minerals: 20% Copper Hit at Lunahuasi

NGEx Minerals released another batch of high-grade copper, gold and silver intercepts from its Lunahuasi project in Argentina that extend mineralization in multiple directions – including one interval grading more than 20% copper. Standout hole DPDH078 in the Mars zone cut 20.5 metres of 6.29% copper, 15.18 grams gold per tonne and 53.5 grams silver from 298 metres downhole, with a 3.5-metre interval that returned 20.25% copper, 21.3 grams gold and 172 grams silver from 301 metres depth.

Located inside the Vicuña district along the Chile-Argentina border, Lunahuasi is a relatively new discovery, having been first identified in 2023. The project has quickly gained attention for delivering some of the highest copper and gold grades encountered in the district, which hosts major deposits such as Josemaria and Filo del Sol held in the Lundin Mining and BHP joint venture, as well as NGEx's Los Helados.

According to market data, the COPX copper miners ETF traded at $78.36 on Friday, down 1.5% as copper prices consolidated.

Selkirk Copper: Resource Nearly Triples at Minto

A resource update for Selkirk Copper Mines' Minto project in Yukon more than doubles contained red metal as the First Nation-owned company prepares to release a feasibility study and eventually restart the mine. The update outlines 47.8 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.89% copper, 0.34 gram gold per tonne and 3.2 grams silver for 940 million lb. copper, 530,000 oz. gold and about 4.8 million oz. silver, Selkirk reported Thursday.

Compared with last year's estimate, contained measured and indicated copper increased 181%, gold 183% and silver 192%, although copper grades declined by roughly one quarter as additional lower-grade tonnes were incorporated into the resource.

The Minto mine was put up for sale in September 2023 after owner Minto Metals shut it down due to financial difficulties and PricewaterhouseCoopers put the mine into receivership. Minto produced about 500 million lb. copper between 2007 and 2023.

Selkirk Copper shares gained almost 7% to $1.94 apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about $259.6 million.

Kinross Gold: Lobo-Marte Costs Rise, But NPV Triples

Kinross Gold has raised the projected cost of its Lobo-Marte gold project in Chile by nearly two-thirds to $1.8 billion, though the post-tax net present value is still estimated at $4.3 billion.

Kinross announced a Lobo-Marte project economics refresh highlighting its potential to become a long-life, low-cost cornerstone asset. Lobo-Marte is expected to produce an average of ~350,000 Au oz. per year during steady state operations at a low all-in sustaining cost of approximately $1,000 per ounce with an attractive Net Present Value of $4.3 billion at a $4,100 per ounce gold price.

Inflation accounts for more than $400 million of the increase from the 2021 estimate, Dunford said. The original 2021 feasibility study pegged capital costs at $1.08 billion. Robust economics: Estimated Net Present Value of $4.3 billion, Internal Rate of Return of 26% and payback of 2.3 years at a $4,100 per ounce gold price.

Gold traded at $4,106 per ounce on Friday, up 0.5% according to market data, providing a supportive backdrop for large-scale development projects.

What It Means

Friday's announcements underscore a critical shift in North American mining policy: governments are moving from rhetoric to action on critical minerals. Canada Nickel's Crawford approval — the first under a reformed federal permitting framework — could become a template for accelerating other stalled projects. The fact that it took seven years from discovery to approval, even with fast-tracking, highlights the challenge ahead.

The nuclear sector continues to attract capital, with Westinghouse's IPO filing joining a wave of nuclear companies tapping public markets as data center power demand surges. Meanwhile, Perpetua's antimony pilot plant demonstrates how defense priorities are reshaping mining investment, with the U.S. military directly funding domestic mineral supply chains.

On the copper front, NGEx's 20%-plus intercepts at Lunahuasi and Selkirk's resource expansion at Minto signal continued exploration success in established districts. With copper miners down 1.5% on Friday according to market data, quality assets with near-term catalysts are drawing investor attention as the sector consolidates around tier-one deposits.

This roundup covers press releases published on July 31, 2026. Company announcements are sourced from mining industry wire services. For corrections or updates, contact contact@stakeandpaper.com.