Ontario marks first nickel ore at Glencore’s deep Sudbury mine

TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford was in Greater Sudbury on Thursday to mark the first nickel ore from Glencore Canada’s Onaping Depth project, a 2,600-metre extension of the old Craig Mine.The company is spending nearly $2 billion on the underground expansion, which is expected to support up to 400 full-time jobs when it hits full production in 2027. Officials said the build already generated about 7,000 construction jobs. Craig Mine closed in 2009.Ford framed the milestone as part of Ontario’s push to lock in critical minerals and shield workers from U.S. tariffs. “We’re strengthening Ontario’s global advantage as a supplier of the high-grade nickel the world needs,” he said.Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce called the project “a massive signal of confidence” and said the government had cut permit timelines in half. He said Queen’s Park will take more action this fall on mining competitiveness and made-in-Canada supply chains.Ontario produces about 59% of Canada’s nickel by value. At full scale, Onaping Depth is projected to produce one million tonnes of ore a year. The current plan is expected to yield about 280 kilotonnes of nickel and 145 kilotonnes of copper, with ore processed at Glencore’s Strathcona Mill and then the Sudbury Smelter..The operation will use an all-electric fleet of 66 vehicles. Glencore says that should cut underground ventilation energy use by about 40% and cooling by about 30% compared with a diesel fleet.Peter Xavier, chief operating officer of Glencore Canada Metals, said the deeper workings depend on battery-electric equipment, remote operations, and automation, and that Onaping Depth is meant to keep the company’s Sudbury mill and smelter running.Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations — Craig Mine, Strathcona Mill, the Sudbury Smelter, and support staff — employ more than 1,000 people. The company said the operation contributed nearly $400 million in direct GDP to Ontario in 2024 and spent more than $650 million with Ontario suppliers.The government’s Thursday release put direct mining jobs in Ontario at 28,000, plus 46,000 indirect jobs. A provincial minerals-sector page lists 31,000 direct jobs. Ontario said it produced $14.2 billion worth of minerals in 2025.The new ore does not change the fact that nickel prices, global supply, and U.S. tariff policy will decide how much of that rock turns into lasting paycheques. Full production is still a year away.

Ontario marks first nickel ore at Glencore’s deep Sudbury mine

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