Canada and the critical minerals saga

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Just last week, close to 25,000 people convened in Toronto for the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's annual convention, one of the largest mining events in the world. The mood was optimistic, with many issues discussed. However, the critical minerals issue dominated the discussions, and rightly so. The event saw multiple Federal Liberal cabinet members in attendance. In obvious attendance, were Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The ministers, as politicians do, stressed the federal government's commitment to critical minerals development. We will see how strong this commitment is, when the federal budget is tabled on March 28. Budget 2023 has the opportunity to place a high priority on the urgent need for critical minerals development. Supports in last year's budget, the most recent Fall Economic Statement, and the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy are positive, although silent on recycling nuclear spent Candu fuel, which is rich in critical minerals, specifically, rare earth elements. Canada has accumulated 50,000 tons of spent Candu nuclear fuel by now. We are sitting on a rich resource of materials from which the country can benefit immensely in multiple areas, including rare minerals. This can be considered a non-conventional mine of critical raw materials. I just wonder when the Laurentian political elite leading this country, will finally put the interests of this wonderful and great country at the forefront. In their wisdom, however, they have put the carriage before the horse. They do not seem to realize that the critical mineral supply chain needs to be assured before trumpeting and chest pummelling to attract new investments for electric vehicles and battery manufacturing. The sustainability of the electric battery ecosystem is contingent on the availability and supply of more critical minerals. Put simply, Canada needs to attract more investment into the critical minerals sector, or Canada's position in the race for advanced technology manufacturing and the benefits that flow from that will be significantly diminished. Looking at sourcing of critical minerals in the world today, we note that the rare earths elements market is characterised by enormous country concentration on the supply side. China's share of production has recently been above 90%. It has also mastered processing, refining and metals alloying technologies (downstream capacity). China gained this monopolistic position in the 1990s, thanks to its geological reserves of good quality, and the wide range of its rare earths elements products. Since 2010, China has tightened its production and export limits. This triggered ongoing trade disputes and brought the geopolitical aspects of the critical minerals market to the forefront. China's restrictions consequently acted as an impetus for developing strategies to diversify the critical minerals supply sources. New providers entering the market include the US, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. Long term projects to rebalance trade have been launched, but as usual lately, Canada is missing the action. In 2020 China produced 58%, USA 16%, Myanmar 12% and Australia 7% of the world total of 240,000 tonnes, which is double the amount produced in 2014 (Statista). In rare earths elements alone, China has 45 million tonnes (37.5%) of the world's 120 million tonnes of reserves, followed by Brazil with 22 million tonnes (18.3%) and Russia with 18 million tonnes (15%). In considering the importance of this sector to the wellbeing of our country, there are some applications we need to shed light on. These need particular attention from Canadian politicians who are infatuated with green technologies without knowing anything about them. Examples of industrial uses of critical minerals: - In magnets in electrical and electronic components, wind turbines, hybrid and electrical vehicles and in medical devices (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); - In some phosphors, used for example, in screens, energy efficient lighting and laser devices; - In glass for absorbing ultraviolet radiation, colourising and decolourising, polishing or altering refractive index (e.g. camera lenses); - In protective coating used for example, in catalysts; - In alloys in metals used in rechargeable batteries; - In ceramics to improve strength and toughness (e.g. semiconductors, microwave dielectrics); - In nuclear energy and defence applications; and - Research on speed and satellite communications, magnetic refrigeration, energy storage (fuel cells) and water treatment (filtering). Just to give an idea of the need for these critical minerals, here are some examples of quantities used in various applications: - a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine includes some 350 kg of rare earths elements (REEs) (mostly neodymium), - an electrical vehicle contains REEs in the motor, up to some 30kg, in batteries (with 10-15 kg of lanthanum and 1 kg of neodymium), in glass and mirrors, in fuel and catalytic converters and in electronics. - smartphones include estimated quantities of 50 milligrams of neodymium and 10 milligrams praseodymium (in loudspeakers). Given the fact that minerals and metals mined in Canada use less carbon intensity than almost any other mining jurisdiction, Canada should be the leading supplier of these critical materials to meet our national needs, and then the global strategic demand. Announcements from auto manufacturers, including companies like Volkswagen, which recently chose Ontario as host to its first North American Electric Vehicle (EV) battery plant, will only come with increased frequency if investments are made into our critical minerals sector. Why do they choose Canada? For its potential supply of critical minerals and secure and responsible environment. So it is time for Canada to stop hesitating and start prioritizing a secure, sustainable and long-term supply of domestic battery grade materials, including expanded production of the raw inputs essential for their manufacturing. As time is of the essence, we cannot afford to wait another year for the government to prioritize the minerals and metals, particularly critical minerals, essential to the battery and EV supply chain. Let us hope the leading elite in Canada will finally act. What do you think?