Critical Minerals Mined in Ontario

Cont’d from pg. 10 foundland is mined and refined to Class 1 nickel metal and then shipped to Europe for further processing into battery-grade material. Elsewhere, Vale’s Ontario and Manitoba operations produce nickel concentrate that is smelted to matte and refined to Class 1 nickel in Ontario.

Glencore’s Ontario and Québec operations produce nickel concentrate that is smelted to matte in Ontario and shipped to Europe for refining to Class 1 metal. Sherritt International produces Class 1 nickel in Alberta from imported joint-venture feed materials. However, producing Class 1 metal may not be the most efficient route from mine to battery metals. Sherritt pioneered the use of hydrometallurgy for treating nickel concentrates from Manitoba in the 1950s, and Long Harbour has adopted a different hydrometallurgical route in Newfoundland. Modern hydrometallurgy can be a low-carbon alternative to traditional fossil fuel smelting.

Copper_________________________

Canada is home to significant copper production in Québec, Newfoundland, Ontario, and British Columbia. Teck Resources, a homegrown senior Canadian firm with a significant global footprint, supplies Canada’s needs in the near-term from its new Chilean project.

REE________________________________

Canada is well stocked with rare earth elements (REEs), with promising demonstrations for mining, processing, and recycling. In 2022, the Avalon Advanced Materials Nechalacho deposit in the Northwest Territories began production under Australian miners, Cheetah Resources. The project mines material from the Nechalacho deposit and transports it to Saskatchewan for further processing.

Cobalt_________________________

Cobalt is usually a by-product of nickel and copper mining with the notable exception of the silver-cobalt camp in northeast Ontario, and several firms are seeking to expand Canada’s processing capacity to produce the cobalt hydroxide and sulphate needed for the battery metals supply chain.

Manganese_______________________________________

Manganese mining and production has not been developed in Canada, but the country is home to the largest deposits in North America and two junior miners, Manganese X and Canadian Manganese, have explored deposits suitable for producing battery metals.

Canadian Minerals and Metals Sector

Natural Resources Canada recently reported that in 2020, the direct contribution of Canada’s minerals and metals sector to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $70bn, which represented 3% of Canada’s total GDP. The indirect effects from the minerals and metals sector added a further $37bn to the GDP, for a total contribution of $107bn.

Battery Metals and Minerals

Battery metals and minerals are big business in Canada and with the energy transition well underway and the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) outpacing even the best predictions, these numbers are expected to rapidly increase further, along with related investments and other opportunities in the industry.

The Battery Metals Association of Canada (BMAC)

Seeing this growth, and recognizing the greater potential for the industry, in January 2022, the Battery Metals Association of Canada (BMAC) took steps to help align the industry and co-ordinate efforts. Starting by hosting a series of interactive stakeholder workshops, followed by conducting leading industry research, this work culminated in the development of the in-depth industry analysis and overview that would become the roadmap for harnessing the maximum value of these resources through each step along the value chain – from extraction, processing, end-use, and recycling of these resources.

Ontario’s Contribution

Ontario is a world-class producer of nickel, gold, copper, zinc and platinum group elements. There are 41 active mining operations in Ontario, most of which are located in Northern Ontario. Of the 41 active mines nine are base metal (nickel, copper, zinc) mines. One is a platinum-palladium mine. Ontario currently has metal smelters and refineries that process several critical minerals, including nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group elements, uranium, tellurium and selenium.

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