Building the green economy

Ontario’s critical minerals

As nations transition to green economies and governments accelerate the adoption of new technologies and renewable energy, the demand for reliable, sustainable and ethical sources of critical minerals will grow.

Canada is a hub for critical minerals globally and Ontario’s mining industry leads the way by producing and processing mineral resources used in manufacturing everything from computer drives, renewable energy technologies, electric vehicle parts, rechargeable batteries, nanotechnology and much more.

The development and coordination of Canada’s policies and programs on critical minerals is driven by Natural Resources Canada’s Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence (CMCE), in collaboration with industry, provincial, territorial, Indigenous, non-governmental and international partners. The Centre helps to advance critical mineral resources and value chains, which are important for a green and digital economy.

Ontario, meanwhile, is a main contributor to Canada’s critical minerals strategy. Its diverse geology offers a wealth of possibilities built on a storied geological past. This is reflected in the wide range of mineral deposits that have been and continue to be developed into operating mines that are significant contributors to the provincial economy.

Ontario promotes social and environmental responsibility, making it attractive for mining companies and investors with a commitment to favourable Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.

Still, several First Nations concerned about the increase of critical mining exploration and production have formed an alliance to ensure their interests and rights are met.

Canada’s Place on list of Leading Nations Critical Minerals

In 2022, Bloomberg News hosted a special one-off Summit on the lithium-ion supply chain and other critical minerals in Bali, Indonesia, ahead of both the Business 20 (B20) and G20 Summits. They ranked 30 leading countries’ lithium-ion battery supply chain performance based on 45 metrics across five key themes.

The themes include the availability and supply of key raw materials, manufacturing of battery cells and components, local demand for electric vehicles and energy storage, infrastructure, innovation, and industry and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations.

Based on those measures, Canada ranked third, eighth, tenth, fourth and sixth, and although China leads the ranking in three of the five categories, Canada was 2nd in overall ranking. Canada has large lithium reserves. It has significant lithium in brines associated with oil and gas reservoirs.

Canada is rich with deposits of all the necessary battery metals. Most resource-rich countries rank low overall because they generally lack domestic battery manufacturing capabilities and EV demand. Below are brief reviews of the various battery metals.

Lithium___________________________________________

Canada has large lithium reserves and is home to both brine deposits (in the west) and spodumene hard rock deposits (in Québec and Ontario). It also has significant lithium in brines historically associated with oil and gas reservoirs.

Nickel_____________________________________________

Canada has been a leading supplier of nickel for many years, producing 6.7% of the world’s nickel in 2020. This amounts to 170ktpa; however, at present, Canada does not process any battery-grade nickel. There are however several pathways from Canada’s sulphide ore deposits to producing battery metals. Currently, Canadian nickel from Vale’s Long Harbour facility in New-