Glencore Canada has reached two significant milestones at its Onaping Depth Project in Sudbury, Ontario, bringing one of Canada’s most technologically advanced new underground mining developments closer to production.
The company has completed the project’s mine shaft and gained access to the high-grade nickel and copper orebody for the first time, providing the infrastructure required to support future underground mining operations.
Located within Glencore’s existing Craig Mine and forming part of its Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, Onaping Depth extends almost 2,600 metres below the surface, making it the deepest mining development undertaken by the company in Sudbury.
The development represents nearly C$2 billion in private-sector investment and is expected to help secure nickel production in the Sudbury Basin beyond 2040, strengthening Canada’s position within the rapidly expanding global critical minerals market.
Unlocking a New Generation of Mining
Completion of the shaft marks a particularly important stage in the development of Onaping Depth.
Constructed from the bottom of the historic Craig Mine, the shaft now connects the surface with the deeper orebody and provides essential infrastructure for the movement of workers, equipment and materials.
Accessing the deposit for the first time brings the project significantly closer to full-scale mining and builds on several years of construction and underground development.
Canada’s federal government describes Onaping Depth as the first new mine to be developed in the Sudbury Basin in more than a decade.
Since construction began in 2019, the project has generated approximately 7,000 jobs across mining, skilled trades, contracting and the wider supply chain.
Once operational, it is expected to support around 400 full-time positions while helping sustain Glencore’s broader integrated mining, milling and smelting operations in the region.
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Battery-Electric Mining at Depth
Beyond its scale, Onaping Depth is notable for the technology being deployed underground.
Glencore is developing the mine around an entirely battery-electric mobile equipment fleet, helping reduce reliance on conventional diesel-powered machinery.
The fleet will support activities ranging from drilling and preparing the mining face to extracting ore and transporting employees, equipment and supplies underground.
Removing diesel equipment can also reduce underground emissions and associated ventilation and cooling requirements, an increasingly important consideration as mines operate at greater depths.
Onaping Depth is additionally incorporating remote management, monitoring and control technology designed to allow more operations to be managed from the surface.
Artificial intelligence-enabled systems will support operational efficiency and resource discovery, while automation is intended to reduce the amount of time employees need to spend in potentially hazardous underground environments.
The combination of electrification, automation and remote operation positions the project as a demonstration of how deep underground mining could evolve over the coming decades.
Strengthening Canada’s Critical Minerals Supply
The minerals produced at Onaping Depth also carry growing strategic importance.
Nickel is a key material used across stainless steel production, battery technologies and advanced manufacturing, while copper is fundamental to electrical infrastructure, renewable energy systems and the continued electrification of the global economy.
Governments and manufacturers are consequently placing greater emphasis on securing reliable sources of both metals as investment in energy infrastructure, electrification and technology continues to increase.
Canada has identified critical minerals as an important part of its wider industrial and economic strategy, with projects such as Onaping Depth helping to establish additional domestic supply.
Glencore’s Sudbury operations already include integrated mine, concentrator and smelting infrastructure, allowing new resources from Onaping Depth to feed into an established regional mining ecosystem.
Investing in Sudbury’s Mining Future
Mining has formed part of Sudbury’s economy for more than a century, and the latest investment demonstrates how one of Canada’s most established mining regions continues to adapt to new technologies and changing global demand.
Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations currently employ more than 1,000 people and contribute almost C$400 million in direct GDP to Ontario.
By extending access to high-grade nickel and copper resources while deploying battery-electric equipment and advanced digital technologies, Onaping Depth is designed to support the next chapter of that industrial legacy.
With the shaft completed and the orebody now accessible, the project has moved another significant step closer to production.
For both Glencore and the wider Canadian mining industry, Onaping Depth provides an example of how investment in established mining regions can combine new mineral supply with automation, electrification and increasingly sophisticated underground technology.