Canadian Critical Update

Canadian Critical Minerals (CCMI.V) released an update on its revised permitting plans on May 23, 2025.

In this release, CCMI also discussed its plans for processing and selling more of its above-ground stockpile. For over a year, CCMI has been trucking sorted material to the New Afton mill just outside Kamloops. A 400-mile drive away. To make this work CCMI leased an ore sorter from Bayhorse Silver (BHS.V) which is waiting on permits itself. The sorter ensured that only fairly high grade material, think 4% copper or better plus a bit of gold and silver, makes the journey to Kamloops.

CCMI states that it “expects to send an additional 2,100 tonnes of mineralized material to New Afton by the end of August 2025.” Based on earlier shipments, this should be worth about $700,000 USD or around a million in Canadian dollars over four months. Net of the sorter rental and trucking costs, Ian Berzins will have about $500,000 Canadian to offset permitting costs and care and maintenance on the mine. [Why August 31 for the end of the sorting and shipping? I have no idea. Maybe Bayhorse has a better offer on the sorter and wants it back. Bit of a mystery.)

The rest of the stockpile, 170,000 tons of material including fines from the crushing process, will serve as “an initial feed to the BRM mill for approximately eight months following restart of operations".” The great advantage of having your own mill is that it lets you set the ore sorter to reject all but the highest grade material, knowing that the rejected rock will still be processed. It is a great example of how ore sorting can be used to maximize revenue in specific circumstances.

The critical paragraph of the release is,

Further to discussion with the Major Mines Permitting Office of the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals of British Columbia (“MMCM”), the Company has decided to modify its current application to restart the BRM project by combining project phases into one application. If approved, this will allow the Company to restart underground mining and milling operations at the same time. To-date the Company has advanced its application to restart the BRM project in a phased approach in order to reduce the costs associated with completion of all detailed engineering studies in support of the application.

Reading between the lines I have to think that the Major Mines Permitting Office gave CCMI the heads up that doing the permit in two steps was unnecessary. Canadian Critical is likely to recieve a go/no go decision on a combined permit relatively quickly and while financing may dictate the mine may come online in two phases, better to get a permit for both.

Back in March I wrote about the “Trump effect” on permitting in general and in BC specifically. The Eby government has gone from a go-slow permitting regime to an expedited process enabled by the passage of Bill 15 just a few days ago.

While the Bull River Mine is not presently on the list of projects deemed provincially significant, this might actually work to CCMI’s advantage. Canadian Critical has excellent relations with the First Nations in its area and an expedited, though “normal” consultation process is not as likely to draw opposition as a project deemed provincially significant. Bill 15 is more than a little controversial in First Nations circles. Following the ordinary process, albeit with a bit of urgency, CCMI might well have its permits in very short order.

Right now, CCMI is completing the engineering reports required to support its permit application. “Once all engineering reports are complete, the Company plans to incorporate them into a Final Permit Application and make its submission to MMCM in Q1 2026.”

The perception that an approval for a mine can take years is likely wrong in the case of the Bull River Mine. First, it is an existing mine and mill which last produced copper in the early 1970’s. Second, it is a project which could be up and running in a matter of months once the permits are obtained. Third, there is a significant quantity of copper in its 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate, summarised at MinFile:

An indicated resource of 2,261,000 tonnes grading 1.796 per cent copper, 0.422 gram per tonne gold and 15.3 grams per tonne silver was estimated, with an overall copper equivalent value of 2.132 per cent. An inferred resource of 1,356,000 tonnes grading 1.598 per cent copper, 0.417 gram per tonne gold and 13.6 gram per silver was estimated with an overall copper equivalent value of 1.918 per cent.

The Eby government needs proof that its new attitude towards mining is real. At the same time its fast-tracking of projects deemed provincially significant is politically fraught. Normal course permitting of CCMI’s Bull River Mine could demonstrate a new attitude without attracting too much political heat.

Arguably, I invested in CCMI too early last April. Canadian Critical shares have done, essentially, nothing since then trading between $0.03 and $0.06. It might be a long wait for the permit application to be submitted and considered. Dead money. Unless it isn’t. With permits, CCMI is worth significantly more than its current 10 million market cap.

A lot more.

(Disclaimer: I own shares in Canadian Critical Minerals, which I may buy or sell at any time. This is not investment advice. Do your own due diligence. Call the CEO.)