Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to make Canada the world’s “leading energy superpower” through a plan that includes establishing a single office that would decide on major projects within two years.
The Liberal Party leader said at a campaign stop in Calgary that his government would create a Major Federal Project Office with a “one project, one review” mandate. The aim would be to eliminate duplication of federal and provincial environmental assessments, speeding up reviews.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
Canada’s mining sector is making strides in electrification, driven by technological advancements, policy support, and infrastructure investments. The increase in demand for critical minerals in Canada is evident and is the result of mining companies integrating electrified solutions.
These solutions include battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and electrified infrastructure to enhance sustainability and efficiency while balancing innovation with operational realities. Canadian mines have been pioneers in integrating BEVs into their operations with over a decade of use in the industry.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
The number of batteries used in energy storage is rising as the world adopts more advanced technologies, particularly green energy and electric vehicles (EVs), thus increasing the demand for critical minerals such as lithium.
Lithium extraction, like many resources, can be a complicated and expensive proposition for mining companies. Typically found in low concentrations, lithium deposits vary from rock to clays to brines with unique impurities from location to location. Lithium supply chains also require high degrees of purity.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Mining investments make up nearly all the resource projects Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre would approve within a year if elected Canadian Prime Minister this month. Campaigning in British Columbia on Monday for the April 28 election, Poilievre said he would start a “one-and-done” approvals process to accelerate 10 projects. These would need one application and one environmental review, he said.
His list includes NexGen Energy’s Rook 1 uranium project in Saskatchewan, and several in Ontario: First Mining Gold’s Springpole project, Agnico Eagle Mines’ Upper Beaver underground gold and copper mine and roads to access Wyloo Metal’s Ring of Fire project.
An aggressive, dig-baby-dig attitude to extraction will benefit the minerals sector
In 2021, the federal government established an official list of 34 critical minerals and metals—including nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium—that are essential to Canada’s economic security and our role in global supply chains.
They’re found in almost every province and territory and used in products like smartphones, photovoltaic cells, semiconductors and electric vehicles. Their extraction is the missing link in Canada’s multi-billion-dollar investment in EV battery plants: the whole idea is for Canada itself to supply those critical minerals, not import them.
Erik Groves is Corporate Strategy and In-House Counsel at Morgan Companies.
There is a growing chorus of voices championing increased exploration and resource discovery in the global scramble to secure critical minerals. From copper to rare earth elements (REEs), policymakers often fixate on the belief that establishing new ore sources will lead to self-sufficiency.
At first glance, this is a logical approach—after all, production starts with the extraction of raw minerals. However, this approach is misguided if our true goal is to achieve long-term critical mineral self-sufficiency and independence.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
China is expanding its export controls on minerals used in strategic industries as part of its retaliation against U.S. tariffs, putting Canada in a position to potentially fill some of the void. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday hit China with additional 34-per-cent tariffs, on top of the 20-per-cent levies he had already imposed. The assault on China is part of Mr. Trump’s global suite of “reciprocal” tariffs targeting countries his administration perceives as treating the U.S. unfairly.
Beijing on Friday fired back, announcing its own tit-for-tat tariffs of 34 per cent on all imports of U.S. goods. But it also announced new controls on the exports of rare-earth minerals, including scandium, samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, and yttrium to the U.S.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/
Allegations in Brazil, Canada, Colombia and U.S. involve dams, wind farm, other operations
Under Mark Carney’s leadership, global investment firm Brookfield was accused of breaching Indigenous rights or harming the environment in at least four countries, CBC Indigenous has found. Carney, who is running for prime minister as Liberal leader, spent more than four years as vice chair and then chair at Brookfield Asset Management, where he focused on green investing and renewable energy.
During that period from 2020 to 2024, Brookfield businesses faced reports of serious human rights abuses in Brazil, Indigenous resistance in Colombia, a First Nation’s $100-million lawsuit in Ontario and an environmental dispute in Maine.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
A vital investment to meet growing demand and enhance everyday life
It is no exaggeration to say that we could not survive in a modern society without critical minerals; they are found in hundreds of things we use everyday from cell phones and laptops to tea kettles and toothpaste.
Manufacturing, construction, agriculture, artificial intelligence, and clean technologies are just a few examples of the industries that are dependent on this sector, which is set to have a global market value of US$770 billion by 2040.
The Town of Pincher Creek is looking into whether a plebiscite could be held during the October municipal election to gauge public sentiment on the proposed Grassy Mountain coal mining project. The idea was introduced by deputy mayor Wayne Oliver during the March 24 council meeting.
Oliver put forward a notice of motion requesting that administration investigate the feasibility of holding an informational plebiscite, similar to the one Crowsnest Pass held last year. However, he suggested holding it in conjunction with the upcoming municipal election.
Volatility from trade tensions with the US kept a lid on Canada’s market for equity deals in the first quarter, even as activity in precious metals perked up.
Canada-listed firms raised just $2 billion in the first quarter, compared to the $2.9 billion raised during the same period a year ago, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Investment bankers say market gyrations wrought by the US-Canada trade war have made dealmaking difficult.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Canadian copper miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has agreed to drop or suspend its arbitration claims against Panama, opening the door to a resolution that could see its giant operations in the country eventually reopen.
Vancouver-based First Quantum in late 2023 filed international arbitration proceedings against Panama around the time then-president Laurentino Cortizo ordered the shutdown of its Cobre Panama mine. Mr. Cortizo took the drastic step after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that its mining contract was unconstitutional, and during massive public protests against the mine.
Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) has consolidated ownership of the Copper Mountain mine in southern British Columbia, a move that aligns with the Canadian miner’s strategy to boost its copper production in North America.
On Thursday, Hudbay said it is acquiring Mitsubishi Materials’ 25% stake in the mine for $44.25 million in cash, of which $4.5 million is paid upfront and $21 million paid in seven equal annual installments. The remaining $18.75 million will consist of five equal payments contingent on certain operating milestones.
Could send shockwaves through eastern part of sector and ultimately benefit China
United States President Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for tariffs on copper that could send shockwaves through the eastern part of Canada’s sector and ultimately benefit China. Canada in 2023 produced 2.2 per cent of global mined copper, less than half of what’s produced in the U.S., which accounted for five per cent.
Nonetheless, more than half the copper produced in Canada, mainly from the eastern part of the country, was shipped to the U.S., making up a large portion of the imports there.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Aaron Burnett is a German-Canadian geopolitics and security analyst based at Berlin’s Democratic Strategy Initiative.
The spectre of a deeper trade relationship between Canada and Europe keeps U.S. President Donald Trump up at night – if his latest social-media rant threatening higher tariffs on both is any clue.
And that means, all the more, that Canada must seek closer ties to Europe. Mr. Trump is a man who defers to strength and bullies the weak. If a Canada-Europe team-up strikes such a raw nerve, then that means it’s the right move.
