Report outlines what Canada must do to secure supply of critical minerals – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Northern Miner – June 24, 2021)

Global mining news

The Standing Committee on Natural Resources has presented a report before Canada’s House of Commons that stresses the importance of securing a supply of critical minerals, particularly in the face of China’s dominance.

Currently, the Asian economic giant owns as much as 80% of the global processing capacity for rare earths, as it has been investing for decades in acquiring strategic mineral assets across the world, and according to data gathered by the committee, it is likely to hold about 67% of the global capacity to build lithium-ion batteries by 2030.

Based on the information and feedback received from industry, First Nations, research institutions, market analysts and other experts, the Committee said it is time for the Canadian government to step up its game, leverage the Canadian mining industry’s high environmental, social and governance standards and involvement of Indigenous communities, and take concrete steps to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign markets while positioning itself in global markets.

The report points out that Canada has everything it needs to work towards such a goal, as it produces 60 minerals, including some critical minerals, and it is the only nation in the western hemisphere that has copper, cobalt, rare earth elements, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel deposits, which are all needed to produce advanced batteries for electric vehicles.

For the rest of this article: https://www.northernminer.com/news/report-outlines-what-canada-must-do-to-secure-supply-of-critical-minerals/1003832240/