Big shoes to fill: First Nickel Inc. wants the headframe at Falconbridge Ltd.'s Lockerby Mine to bear ore once more.

In work as in ping-pong, First Nickel Inc. CEO Elizabeth Kirkwood has never let the boys win.

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"I never let anybody win," she says. "If two sailboats are going the same direction as far as I'm concerned it's a race."

She and her partners, mostly geologists, are in the process of acquiring a 100 per cent interest in Falconbridge Ltd's Lockerby Mine north of the Greater Sudbury Basin, with the intent to bring the mine back into production.

Winning is her nature. Even at red lights.

"Young guys think they are so smart," she giggles with delight.

"But it is fun when a middle-aged woman beats them off the start."

But she has learned to be a good loser as well. Having a table tennis wizard for a big brother helped in that department.

But she could beat her brother's friends, so consistently, in fact, that her mother eventually told her to let the boys win.

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To this day, that hasn't happened.

For 15 years Kirkwood survived the male-dominated mining sector by staying her course. She experienced the troughs and the pre-breaking swells as metal prices sank and rose. Her time spent in a directorship, CFO or chairperson capacity with Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. and Intrepid Minerals Corp. has given her a pulse on policies and regulations, particularly in corporate governance. She can see what other juniors are doing internationally and how to position her company to avoid pitfalls or and maximize economic benefits.

Her experience has led her today to the best place to start a new mine, in the shadow of a headframe.

"The (Lockerby Mine) property is the Boardwalk and Park Place of the world," Kirkwood says. Her 'Monopoly' on the site isn't finalized yet, but Kirkwood is hoping to close the deal with Falcon-bridge by the end of January.

In the meantime, the company is in due diligence mode. This is where her former job kicks in. In her past life, Kirkwood was a law clerk for a securities law firm specializing in junior mining companies.

For 17 years, she met prospectors, CEOs and geologists who had a hand in finding national mineral discoveries.

W.E. Brereton, executive vice-president, is eager to hit the ground drilling.

"We want to hit the ground the running, so we'll start with one drill, then move up to three in short order," Brereton says.

The mine still has mineral deposits that are untapped and other areas that are yet to be explored. The mine has previously produced over eight million tonnes averaging 1.7 per cent nickel and 1.07 per cent copper. The footwall to the mine has not been previously explored for copper-platinum group metal-rich deposits.

Brereton and Kirkwood acknowledge it is a huge drilling campaign, but not an impossible task considering what they have accomplished to date.

The mine infrastructure includes two surface shafts down to 1,300-metre depth and an internal shaft from 1,200-metre to 1,920-metre depth.

First Nickel will purchase the structures, equipment and materials located on the mine property for $1.5 million on the closing of the purchase agreement.

Eighteen months ago, First Nickel was merely an idea. First Nickel started as a numbered company, but in five months raised enough seed money to earn a place on the Toronto Stock Exchange. As of Oct. 31 they had accumulated $11.3 million in working capital, with another $6 million in warrants and options.

Building a strategic alliance with Falconbridge is a win-win situation. The nickel giant had no intention of developing the Lockerby site, putting the mine on par with other former Falconbridge operations, such as the Dundonald property, located east of Timmins and the western Abitibi belt.

Dundonald was acquired from Falconbridge as part of First Nickel's formative transaction. Falconbridge now owns 18.4 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares of First Nickel.

The western Abitibi belt hosts some significant discoveries that were found by Falconbridge, according to Kirkwood.

First Nickel can earn up to a 50 per cent interest, while acting as Falconbridge's exploratory arm, she adds.

Partnering with larger mining companies eliminates stockholder fear. People feel safer investing funds into a junior that is affiliated with a larger consortium, she says.

If the Lockerby Mine acquisition pans out, Kirkwood says it may be likely they will have up to 75 underground miners and contract employees from MacIntyre & Associates out of Kirkland Lake starting early this year.

www.firstnickel.com

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business