Canada Steps Up Critical Mineral Investment, Policies with G7 Countries

Written by Eric Funderburk for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land Texas)

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Summary

At a meeting of the G7 countries last week, Canada Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced that Canada and fellow G7 members were investing around US$4.6 billion in Canadian critical minerals projects. In addition, the Canadian federal government is facilitating the projects by guaranteeing itself as a buyer of the projects' output as well as a minimum price floor.

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Stepping Up the Canadian Critical Minerals Sector

In the context of a meeting among the countries in the Group of Seven (G7) alliance, Canada's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson made some important announcements regarding the country's current and future plans to increase its production of critical minerals.

The announcement came as G7 delegates discussed China's increasing dominance in the critical minerals sector. The Paris-based International Energy Agency's Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025, published in June, noted that China is the world's top refiner of 19 out of 20 of the most important strategic minerals, representing an average market share of 70% and noting that this concentration has "intensified" in recent years.

On Friday, on the sidelines of the meeting, Canada's Hodgson announced that Canada, with G7 partners, is investing C$6.4 billion (US$4.6 billion) in critical minerals projects.

Projects Obtaining Funding

Hodgson highlighted a few specific projects receiving these critical investment funds, including:

• Nouveau Monde Graphite Incorporated's (Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Québec) graphite mine in Quebec. This project has been in development for some time and is now underway with an expansion. Nouveau Monde also is involved in a downstream outlet for the mine's graphite in the form of a spherical graphite plant in Becancour, Quebec, that turns out high-grade spherical graphite products for use in sectors such as automotive battery production. Both the mine and products plant are in secondary stages of development, with the mine introducing a 6,500-ton-per-day concentrator and the spherical products plant ramping up its production from an initial 40,000 tons per year to 100,000 tons per year of products. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.


• Rio Tinto's scandium production process at its metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. Rio Tinto's Sorel Tracy mine's prime product is titanium, and a downstream processing plant employs furnaces to create titanium dioxide, primarily used as a white pigment in products such as paint, paper, sunscreen, cosmetics and plastic. Crucially, Rio Tinto scientists have developed the means to extract scandium, a rare and critical metallic element, from the waste stream of the titanium-dioxide-manufacturing process. Scandium can be used to strengthen aluminum alloys in addition to making them more flexible and resistant to heat and corrosion. Rio Tinto is implementing this process at the Sorel-Tracy titanium-dioxide plant in the hopes of producing 12 tons per year of scandium. Also, the electric arc furnaces used to manufacture the titanium dioxide are being completely rebuilt in addition to other equipment additions. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.


• Torngat Metals Limited's (Montreal, Quebec) Strange Lake rare earths mine in Quebec. Unlike the two previously mentioned projects, work on this mine hasn't yet physically begun in earnest, and the initial development remains in the planning stage. Torngat's plans include developing an 11,500-ton-per-year above-ground mine and beneficiation plant targeting 4.1% dysprosium plus terbium, as well as 15.8% praseodymium and neodymium concentrate, when production begins, which is expected in 2029.
  
  But there's more in store for the facility. After initial production has begun, Torngat has plans to expand the mine, boosting production to 3.5 million tons per year. That expansion potentially could be completed by 2032. The four elements being targeted serve various critical needs important components of magnets, lasers, fuel cells, sonar systems, wind turbines and more. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

Undermining China's Economics

Crucially, Hodgson announced that the Canadian federal government was establishing itself as a guaranteed buyer of the critical minerals produced by the projects, setting minimum price floors. The move is meant to keep the continued development of these projects economically feasible in the face of competition from China to help ensure that they actually are completed and productive in the future. "We need to create the certainty of demand and the certainty (of) pricing so that those mines and processing facilities can get built," said Hodgson at a Friday news conference.

The price floors set by Canada is confidential for security and commercial reasons, according to the government.

Industry Applauds

The announcement was greeted with enthusiasm from a country that lately has set the ball rolling on major industrial projects of all sorts. The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) expressed its support, saying in a press release that the measures "represent a significant milestone in advancing Canada's position as a global leader in critical minerals development, security and supply chain resilience."

MAC President Pierre Gratton said, "These measures will help bring Canada's vast critical mineral resources to diversified global markets, reduce overreliance on China, and strengthen our shared security and prosperity. Canada's mining sector stands ready to do its part for our country and our allies."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for many of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

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Key Takeaways

• Canada and its G7 partners are investing C$6.4 billion (US$4.6 billion) across various critical minerals projects across the country.
• The announcement mentioned specific projects aimed at graphite as well as scandium and other rare earth elements.
• The Canadian federal government will be a guaranteed buyer for these projects, establishing minimum price floors to keep development economically feasible.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).