It is reported that Canadian Royalties has placed its troubled Nunavik nickel mine project in hibernation this week, one day after a devastating business report surfaced.

Mr Glenn Mullan chairman of Canadian Royalties said that the hibernation implies a temporary response to conditions. He added that Canadian Royalties has packed up its equipment in Nunavik and laid off more than 70 employees until more favorable market conditions return.

The future looked brighter for Canadian Royalties earlier this year when its environmental permits, land leases and an Inuit benefits agreement for the mine project were finally in place. But Canadian Royalties faced bankruptcy if it continued to spend more money on the Nunavik Nickel Mine.

Canadian Royalties lost USD 12.8 million during the 9 month period ending September 30th 2008. Overall, Canadian Royalties stock has performed terribly.

In August 2008, when Canadian Royalties first started having problems, a May 2010 start up for the Nunavik Nickel Mine still seemed possible, but for work to resume, the company needed to raise another USD 130 million for the USD 500 plus million project.