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Giga Metals
Giga Metals, led by CEO Mark Jarvis, develops the Turnagain nickel-cobalt deposit in BC, a top North American Class 1 nickel resource for EV batteries.
Giga Metals
Giga Metals was founded in 1991 and has refocused under CEO Mark Jarvis on the Turnagain project in northern British Columbia. The company traces its roots to the junior mining exploration sector and now concentrates exclusively on the Turnagain nickel-cobalt sulfide deposit, which it acquired control of and has systematically de-risked through extensive drilling and engineering studies over the last decade. The Turnagain deposit holds a measured and indicated resource of roughly 5.2 billion pounds of nickel and 312 million pounds of cobalt, according to the company's 2021 preliminary economic assessment. Giga Metals targets the Class 1 nickel market, the high-purity nickel required for lithium-ion battery cathodes, rather than the stainless steel market. The project is designed as a conventional open-pit mine with a flotation concentrator producing a bulk nickel-cobalt concentrate. In 2020, Mitsubishi Corporation committed to a partnership on Turnagain through a C$8 million equity investment, gaining the right to negotiate up to a 40% joint-venture interest. Giga Metals operates with a small technical and corporate team based in Vancouver. The firm has commissioned multiple metallurgical test programs to confirm the production of battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulfates from Turnagain feeds. In 2023, the company completed a pre-feasibility study that refined capital cost estimates and advanced environmental baseline work toward permitting. Turnagain's location offers access to tidewater and hydroelectric power, factors the company highlights as critical for low-carbon intensity production, a metric tracked by automakers including Tesla and Volkswagen. The structural differentiator for Giga Metals is its single-asset focus on a deposit that sits in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction at a time when automakers face an acute Western-world supply gap for responsibly sourced battery metals. The company is not a diversified miner with competing capital priorities; its entire value proposition is the pace at which Turnagain can be advanced through feasibility and potential construction, making it a pure-play target for strategic investment from the battery supply chain or a larger mining consolidator seeking nickel exposure.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1991
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Vancouver
Corporate office
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Principals
Mark Jarvis
CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is the scale of the Turnagain deposit?
The Turnagain deposit hosts a measured and indicated resource of approximately 5.2 billion pounds of nickel and 312 million pounds of cobalt, with additional inferred resources. The company's 2021 preliminary economic assessment estimated a mine life exceeding 35 years at a nominal processing rate. This scale positions Turnagain among the largest undeveloped nickel sulfide deposits globally.
Who runs investment and operational decisions at Giga Metals?
CEO Mark Jarvis leads corporate strategy and project advancement. Jarvis has guided Giga Metals' pivot to a singular focus on Turnagain and negotiated the strategic partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation. The board includes mining engineers and financiers with experience in project development and capital markets.
How is Mitsubishi Corporation involved?
In early 2020, Mitsubishi Corporation invested C$8 million in Giga Metals equity and obtained the right to negotiate an earn-in to a joint venture on Turnagain, potentially acquiring up to a 40% interest. Mitsubishi's participation reflects interest from Japanese trading houses in securing battery metal supply chains outside of China and Indonesia.
Is Giga Metals a mining company or an exploration company?
Giga Metals is an exploration and development company. It does not currently produce metals. The firm advances the Turnagain project through feasibility, permitting, and partnership discussions with the goal of reaching a construction decision with a major strategic or financial partner.
What product does the Turnagain project aim to sell?
The project plans to produce a mixed nickel-cobalt concentrate that can be further refined into nickel and cobalt sulfate, the precursor materials for lithium-ion battery cathodes. The company has completed metallurgical test work demonstrating the production of battery-grade sulfate products from Turnagain concentrate.
Where is the Turnagain project located and why does location matter?
Turnagain is located in northern British Columbia, Canada, approximately 1,400 km from Vancouver. The site benefits from proximity to hydroelectric power and deep-water tidewater access, which Giga Metals cites as enabling a low-carbon footprint for nickel production. Canada's mining jurisdiction is widely considered among the most stable and transparent globally.
Does Giga Metals have other projects beyond Turnagain?
Giga Metals is effectively a single-asset company focused entirely on Turnagain. The company previously held other base metal exploration properties but has divested or de-emphasized them to concentrate capital and management attention on advancing Turnagain toward a construction decision.
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