SUDBURY, ON, Oct. 9, 2024 /CNW/ – Critical minerals are not just the building blocks of clean technology like solar panels and electric vehicle batteries — they are a key ingredient for creating middle-class jobs and growing a strong, globally competitive Canadian economy. As demand for critical minerals around the world continues to surge with the increased adoption of clean technologies, Canadian workers and businesses have a generational opportunity to be global leaders and suppliers of critical minerals.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced over $5.1 million in funding for 16 projects in the critical minerals sector, as part of the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS), to position Canada as the reliable supplier of choice the world is looking for. This funding is provided through two key programs to increase the supply of responsibly sourced critical minerals and support the development of domestic and global value chains for the green and digital economy. This investment includes:

Critical Minerals Geoscience Data Initiative (CMGD): over $4.1 million is provided to support 10 projects to enhance access to important data and generate new insights on the geological potential of critical mineral sources.Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI): close to $1 million is provided to support six projects that will reinforce Canada’s growing number of bilateral commitments and engagements in the critical minerals space.

Across Canada, clean energy solutions are providing enormous economic opportunity. The critical minerals sector is already highly valuable to the Canadian economy. In 2022, the minerals and metals sector directly employed 420,000 people and contributed $109 billion to Canada’s total gross domestic product (GDP). Since 2020, automotive and battery manufacturers have announced investments of over $40 billion in electric vehicle production and the battery supply chain. With government support and demand for critical minerals expected to double by 2024, these sectors will only grow. Today’s investments will help deliver jobs and economic opportunities for communities and businesses across the country. 

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“Critical minerals are a generational economic opportunity for Canada. From exploration and extraction to advanced manufacturing to processing and recycling, we are making investments across the value chain. This second call for proposals will support Canadian innovators to drive economic growth and job creation in communities right across Canada.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

Quick Facts

Budget 2022 provided $3.8 billion over eight years to implement the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy. The funding covers a range of industrial activities, from geoscience and exploration to mineral processing, manufacturing and recycling applications.The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy is part of Canada’s strengthened climate plan, 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy, which advances Canada’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.Funding for these projects comes from the $79.2 million in Budget 2021 allocated to the CMGD initiative to enhance the quality and availability of data and digital technologies to accelerate the responsible development of Canadian critical minerals resources and the $70 million allocated for the GPI in Budget 2022 to advance Canada’s global leadership on critical minerals under Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy.The CMGD initiative includes $10 million in contribution funding for the provinces and territories to enhance access to important data and generate new insights on the geological potential of critical mineral sources. By harnessing the power of geoscience and data, we will pave the way for the responsible growth of industries that rely on these minerals, from technology and energy to defence and infrastructure.Through multilateral engagements, Canada is pursuing collective action on critical minerals to support the global transition to green energy and more-resilient supply chains. Canada currently produces 60 minerals and metals at 200 mines and 6,500 sand, gravel and stone quarries across the country.Canada is home to almost half of the world’s publicly listed mining and mineral exploration companies, with a presence in more than 100 countries and a combined market capitalization of $520 billion.

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On October 9, 2024, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced over $5.1 million in funding for 16 projects in the critical minerals sector as part of the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS). Funding has been made available across two programs: the Critical Minerals Geoscience Data Initiative and the Global Partnerships Initiative.

Critical Minerals Geoscience Data (CMGD) Initiative
The CMGD initiative aims to strengthen Canadian critical minerals supply chains and support sustainable development of six priority minerals that are essential to key industries and national security (e.g., batteries, energy, defence, infrastructure). The CMGD initiative provides funding to advance the availability of valuable data and insights on the location, quality and economic feasibility of critical minerals resources.

The CMGD initiative is dedicated to unlocking the sustainable development of Canada’s critical minerals resources by providing essential knowledge and data to support informed decision-making. This is achieved through funding initiatives that help advance the availability of valuable data and insights on the location, quality and economic feasibility of critical minerals resources. By harnessing the power of geoscience and data, we are paving the way for the responsible growth of industries reliant on these minerals, from technology and energy to defence and infrastructure. Over $4.1 million is provided under the CMGD to support the following ten projects:

Analysis of Archived Till Samples for Lithium and Other Critical Elements in Southwestern and West-Central New Brunswick
Recipient: New Brunswick Geological Survey
Funding from CMGD: $108,300
Project Summary: This project will measure lithium and other critical minerals in sediments deposited by glaciers to examine the soil (till) landscape of New Brunswick. By making these data public, this project will contribute to public geoscience and may increase the attractiveness of the province for new exploration investment.

Extreme Fractionation of Late Silurian–Early Devonian Peralkaline Intrusions in the Northern Appalachians: Evaluation of HREE-Y resource petrogenesis
Recipient: New Brunswick Geological Survey
Funding from CMGD: $155,000
Project Summary: This project will investigate the spatial and temporal relationships between different types of rare earth elements deposits and their surrounding terranes by mapping the deposits and using high-precision geochemistry methods to calculate the ages of different components of deposits to understand how they form.

Critical Metal Potential of the Selwyn Sedimentary Basin: Primary and Secondary Geological and Geochemical Controls on Zinc and Vanadium Enrichment in Black Shales 
Recipient: Government of Northwest TerritoriesFunding from CMGD: $399,797
Project Summary: This project seeks to identify the factors that lead to enrichment of zinc and vanadium in the Selwyn Basin and to develop an improved mineral system model for zinc and vanadium mineralization in black shales.

Evaluating Drainage Sediments for Carbonatite-Hosted Critical Indicator Minerals
Recipient: British Columbia Geological Survey
Funding from CMGD: $495,000
Project Summary: This project aims to reduce the risk and cost of critical mineral exploration in B.C. by evaluating the potential for minerals collected from streams draining economically viable deposits of niobium, rare earth elements and other critical minerals to be used as “indicator minerals.”

Rare-Metals Pegmatites of the Slave Geological Province: A petrogenic re-examination with exploration implications
Recipient: Government of Northwest Territories
Funding from CMGD: $497,925
Project Summary: This project will de-risk investment decisions and increase Canada’s competitiveness with new, public geoscience data on critical minerals in the Slave Geological Province, N.W.T., to enable researchers and explorationists to model the formation and critical mineral potential in this area.

Geoscience Data Repository (Data Lake) for the Canadian Cordillera
Recipient: British Columbia Geological Survey
Funding from CMGD: $500,000
Project Summary: This project will develop a new database historical data held by the BC Geological Survey and the Yukon Geological Survey to enable mineral potential modelling of critical mineral-bearing systems and improve our understanding of the critical mineral potential across these jurisdictions.

Assessment Report-Sources Drillhole Database
Recipient: British Columbia Geological Survey
Funding from CMGD: $500,000
Project Summary: This project will support critical mineral potential modelling and exploration across B.C. with a new, province-wide drillhole database by digitizing information from mineral exploration and mining industry assessment reports.

Intrusive History of the Cordilleran Orogen
Recipient: British Columbia Geological Survey
Funding from CMGD: $483,300
Project Summary: This project will triple the amount of modern, high-precision age data available to the public for certain rocks associated with critical minerals and enable better modelling of critical mineral potential of these intrusive rocks in B.C.

Airborne Geophysical Survey to Target Rare Earth Mineralization in Southeastern Labrador
Recipient: Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador
Funding from CMGD: $500,000
Project Summary: This project will provide public geoscience data to develop improved models for rare earth elements deposit formation, reduce risk for public- and private-sector investment decisions and facilitate decision-making for the exploration and sustainable development of mineral resources.

Nain Plutonic Suite Airborne Geophysics
Recipient: Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador
Funding from CMGD: $500,000
Project Summary: This project will generate new public geoscience data that will enhance our understanding of the geologic evolution of Northern Labrador and its potential to host critical minerals (e.g., cobalt, copper, nickel, rare earth elements).

Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI)
As global demand for critical minerals increases, Canada continues to support value-added economic opportunities with like-minded partners and enhance its international leadership in critical minerals, including through a growing number of bilateral commitments and engagements without compromising its ability to deliver on domestically focused initiatives and priorities. The GPI is a key mechanism under the CCMS through which Canada provides this support for initiatives to advance Canada’s global leadership on critical minerals under the CCMS. Close to $1 million is provided under the GPI to support the following six projects:

Enabling Canadian Critical Mineral Supply Chain Transparency and Traceability at Scale
Recipient: Quartech Systems Ltd.
Funding from GPI: $55,000
Project Summary: In collaboration with British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, this project will enhance the interoperability of a commercial-stage application of open-source technology to enable critical minerals supply chain traceability and create meaningful global climate action and environmental protection.

Uranium Traceability and ESG Labeling in Value Chains
Recipient: Aisimpro Inc.
Funding from GPI: $123,750
Project Summary: This project aims to develop and implement a blockchain powered system for critical mineral traceability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures in mining, with a specific focus on the uranium value chain. 

Mimosi-One: Online Regulatory Sandbox for Promoting Adoption of Digital Traceability and Transparency Platforms in the Critical Minerals Sector
Recipient: Peer Ledger Inc.
Funding from GPI: $165,300 
Project Summary: This project will offer an online regulatory technology sandbox to support up to 20 critical sector companies and their supply chains to deploy digital circular value chains. 

Transparent Canadian Battery Supply Chain GHG and ESG Performance
Recipient: Optel Group (Optel Vision Inc.)
Funding from GPI: $165,300
Project Summary: This project will establish the preliminary greenhouse gases and ESG performance of a Canadian nickel-manganese-cobalt battery supply chain in a transparent and traceable manner. 

Enhancing Supply Chain Traceability With Digital TSM Credentials
Recipient: Northern Block Inc
Funding from GPI: $165,300
Project Summary: This project seeks to transform the Canadian critical minerals industry by improving the availability and value of Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) data, utilizing Northern Block’s critical-mineral–focused technology solutions in partnership with the Mining Association of Canada. It aims to streamline and digitize the reporting process, convert reports into secure digital credentials, support ESG standards and facilitate informed decision-making in various sectors.

Disbursement of Voluntary Contribution to International Energy Association Critical Minerals Working Party 
Recipient: International Energy Association
Funding from GPI: $325,000
Project Summary: Under the IEA Standing Group on Long-Term Cooperation, a Critical Minerals Working Party (CMWP) was set up to guide the development of a critical minerals program of work, which will lead to concrete proposals at the IEA Ministerial in February 2024. Within the CMWP, and in alignment with Canada’s Critical Mineral Strategy, a key focus is on improving the performance of international critical mineral supply chains in terms of ESG standards and metrics.

Associated Links

Canadian Critical Minerals StrategyCanada’s strengthened climate plan, 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong EconomyMinister Wilkinson Releases Canada’s $3.8-billion Critical Minerals Strategy to Seize Generational Opportunity for Clean, Inclusive GrowthPrograms and funding for critical minerals projectsStrategic Innovation FundCritical Minerals Geoscience and Data InitiativeCritical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration ProgramA healthy environment and a healthy economy

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada