Canada places big bets on critical minerals

By Nelson Bennett — BIV 

2022.12.11

Canada is blessed with an abundance of fossil fuels — oil, natural gas and coal.

But as the developed world tries to wean itself off of fossil fuels – largely through electrification – it is expected the demand for Canada’s fossil fuels will eventually decline, while demand for critical minerals and metals is projected to grow sixfold by 2040.

These metals and minerals are critical in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, solar and wind power installations, transmission lines and all the other things that a global energy transition will require.

The Canadian government is hoping to capitalize on the opportunity this poses with a new critical minerals strategy — backed with $4 billion in funding in the recent federal budget — that aims to develop a full critical minerals industry value chain, from exploration and mining, to processing, manufacturing and recycling.