Canada Nickel (OTCQX:CNIKF) said Thursday it will seek to raise $1B to fund construction of a nickel processing plant, as it tries to position itself as an alternative supplier of the metal used in car and electric battery vehicles.
The company is in discussions with the Canadian government, the U.S. Department of Defense and other partners in the battery manufacturing sector to raise the funding, CEO Mark Selby told Reuters.
The miner also is building a nickel mine in Ontario and hopes to integrate the battery supply chain with the proposed processing plant, Selby said.
“The car companies and battery supply chain know that the amount of nickel needed in North America is going to double and triple over the next decade,” Selby told Reuters, adding that buyers want clean, green, responsibly produced nickel from North America.