At the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention this year on June 13, Invest in Canada will be hosting a “Canada Day” event bringing together government officials and industry experts, to promote Canada’s leadership in Critical Minerals.
Canada – Critical Minerals List and Critical Minerals Strategy
In March 2021, the Government of Canada released its first list of critical minerals. This list was in response to the rising global demand and strategic importance of these elements and to help position Canada as a reliable source.
The Canadian government believes that critical minerals are crucial for supporting the transition to a low-carbon, digital economy and that Canada is well-positioned to supply more of these resources.
Canada lists critical minerals as part of the recent Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan. This plan includes a vision, principles, and strategic directions that Canadian governments, industry, and stakeholders can follow to drive competitiveness and long-term success in the mining industry.
In the most recent budget announced in April 2022, the government of Canada announced investments in Canada’s first Critical Minerals Strategy by allocating up to $3.8 billion in support over eight years, starting in 2022-23. The strategy includes:
- Committing $80 million to exploration programs to help find critical minerals deposits;
- Doubling the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for targeted critical minerals, including nickel, copper, cobalt, rare earths elements, and uranium;
- Allocating $144 million to critical minerals research and development to support the responsible extraction and processing of critical minerals.
Critical Minerals and the Modern Clean & Green Economy
In order to ensure a smooth transition towards a clean and digitized economy, the availability of critical minerals is pivotal. Canada is home to many of these critical minerals that are required in the manufacturing of clean technology products, which is why mineral exploration and mining companies here play a key role in this ever-growing sector.
Canada provides significant investment and expansion opportunities for companies focused on mineral extraction, battery mineral processing, as well as the end-use of critical minerals, both inside and outside Canada.
Canada aims to become a leading mining nation by capitalizing on the growing demand for critical minerals. These minerals are essential for the development of renewable energy and low-carbon technology solutions, such as batteries, permanent magnets, solar panels and wind turbines. In addition to energy, these minerals are also critical for inputs for advanced manufacturing supply chains, such as consumer electronics, defense, security technologies, medical applications, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Canada has a long history of producing many of the critical minerals along with great potential to produce more. These minerals include both metallic and non-metallic elements such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, platinum group metals, titanium, tungsten, uranium, and zinc.
The availability of minerals provides greater certainty and predictability to industries and investors worldwide while also enabling policymakers to target and address key points in their supply chains.
Canada as a Global Supplier of Choice
By leveraging mining, available resources, and innovation ecosystems, Canada aims to position itself as the global supplier of choice. In order to translate these advantages into greater results for the economy, the federal, provincial, and territorial governments of Canada are working together and developing strategies to strengthen domestic critical mineral projects and supply chains.
These strategies include:
- Identifying ways to help bolster Canadian critical minerals projects value chain development
- Developing policies to secure Canada’s position as a global supplier in the international market
- Coordinating global engagement for the advancement of Canada’s business interests with its allies
- Supporting R&D for more innovation across value chains
- Advancing the competitiveness of Canada’s minerals and metals sector
Canadian Companies in the Critical Metal Industry
Search Minerals
Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY | OTC: SHCMF) is exploring and developing a Rare Earth Elements (REE) project in southeast Labrador, Canada.
The company owns two advanced REE resources, Deep Fox and Foxtrot, along with regional prospects, including Fox Meadow, Silver Fox, Awesome Fox, Henley Harbour, and the Red Wine District.
As it “Sprints to Production”, the company is currently working on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) report for the Deep Fox/Foxtrot project that will incorporate an updated resource at Deep Fox and then immediately start working on a Feasibility Report with mining production targeted for 2025.
Graphano Energy
Graphano Energy (TSXV :GEL | OTC:GELEF | FSE:97G0) is a Canada-based mineral exploration company that evaluates, acquires, and develops battery metal projects.
The company is currently developing its flagship project, the Lac Aux Bouleaux (LAB) Graphite Project in Québec, which is 100%-owned by Graphano. The company aims to build an energy metals portfolio. Its properties have a documented history of having active deposits of natural graphite, an extremely important mineral for green-tech solutions.
About the PDAC 2022 Convention
The PDAC Convention provides a global platform that allows mineral exploration and mining companies from across the world to network, collaborate, learn, and do business together.
The Convention will take place in person at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada from June 13-15 and online from June 28-29.
The “Canada Day” session with a focus on Critical Metals will take place on Monday, June 13, from 2:30PM-5:30PM in Room 801, during an in-person conference.
For more information about the PDAC convention, please visit http://www.pdac.ca/convention/ and to learn more about the “Canada Day” session, please visit this link.
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