Canada is the world leader in financing mineral exploration across the planet. It’s just that about 57 per cent of that money, or $10.5 billion in 2022, was invested abroad, David Olive writes.
It’s commonly assumed in Canada that we are laggards at critical mineral production. There are a couple of new approaches we could take in helping the world ease its critical mineral shortages.
They are a new continental “corridor” extending from Canada to Chile of critical mineral producers that share common values. And second, we need a new model of financing the junior mining companies that make up most of Canada’s mining sector, account for most mine discoveries — and are starved for capital. First, though, Canada is not, in fact, a laggard.
Canada is the world leader in financing mineral exploration across the planet. It’s just that about 57 per cent of that money, or $10.5 billion in 2022, was invested abroad on mineral projects from Argentina to Mongolia.
Canada and Australia, the second-largest investor in mining exploration, are both streamlining their mining project approval processes at home. Meanwhile, potash and uranium production in Saskatchewan and nickel output in the Sudbury basin and at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador, are world-class megaprojects in critical-mineral production.
For the rest of this article: https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/two-approaches-we-could-take-here-at-home-to-ease-the-worlds-critical-mineral-shortages/article_103f8b0e-a97d-11ee-89a2-b34ccdc16ad4.html