The Canadian government has unveiled a new $2.78 billion 'critical minerals' strategy in a bid to capitalize on the world's attempts to move away from fossil fuels and become greener, particularly via electrification.
The new plan, backed by nearly $4 billion in this year's Federal budget, plots a course for the country to become a global supplier of choice for these critical minerals and the clean technologies they serve.
"Critical minerals present a generational opportunity for Canada in many areas: exploration, extraction, processing, downstream product manufacturing and recycling," said Federal natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson in a foreword to the new government report.
"There is no energy transition without critical minerals: no batteries, no electric cars, no wind turbines and no solar panels. The sun provides raw energy, but electricity flows through copper," stated the report.
"Wind turbines need manganese, platinum and rare earth magnets. Nuclear power requires uranium. Electric vehicles require batteries made with lithium, cobalt and nickel and magnets. Indium and tellurium are integral to solar panel manufacturing."
Canada currently produces 60 minerals and metals at 200 mines and 6,500 sand, gravel and stone quarries. It hosts 31 critical minerals, according to the strategy - six of which have been prioritized. These are lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements.
The country already produces some nickel, cobalt and copper, while the province of Saskatchewan is a major producer of uranium.
As yet, there are no operating lithium mines in Canada, although there is a proposed new mine in Quebec. Canada currently ranks fifth globally in the production of graphite and nickel.
Using Clean Energy Canada as a source, the report stated that gross domestic product (GDP) of between $5.7 billion and $24 billion could be created by 2030 annually by developing a battery supply chain, supporting between 18,500 and 81,000 direct jobs.
It is worth noting that in 2019, the federal government launched a 'Mines to Mobility' initiative to build a sustainable battery ecosystem in Canada and, so far, the initiative has attracted more than $7 billion in announced investments.
Canada-focused mining firms working in the sector include Electra Battery Materials, which is currently commissioning North America's only cobalt sulfate refinery.
The site is north of Toronto and around 350 miles (600km) from the US border. Electra says it will produce the world’s lowest carbon solution for zero-emission vehicles.
Elsewhere, Lodestar Battery Metals is advancing quality lithium projects and holds a 100% interest in the Peny property located in Snow Lake, Manitoba.
Junior explorer Fabled Copper has the Muskwa project, which comprises 76 claims in two non-contiguous blocks and spans 8,064.9 hectares, located in the Liard Mining Division in northern British Columbia.
Meanwhile, Global Energy Metals holds a 70% stake in the Werner Lake cobalt project in the Kenora Mining District of Ontario, which is a past-producing mine and boasts a current indicated resource of 57,900 tonnes at 0.51% cobalt and 0.25% copper for 653,000 pounds of contained cobalt.