Despite being rich in so-called ‘critical’ minerals needed for electric vehicles and solar panels, Canada is a long way from being a major player in global supply chains currently dominated by countries such as China, a new report suggests..According to US data provider GlobalData the future supply of minerals and metals needed to meet net-zero targets in 70 countries is uncertain and threatens to undermine ambitious energy transition plans..Materials such as lithium are deemed ‘critical’ if they happen to be in particularly short supply, monopolized by specific regions or at risk of significant disruption..“These widespread measures for a greener future are straining supplies of natural resources, especially the minerals required to produce energy transition technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and solar panels,” said GlobalData. .“Consequently, energy transition objectives will be delayed if critical mineral supply cannot meet demand.”.And it’s not just lithium; to keep pace with anticipated demand just for EVs, the provision of key minerals such as cobalt, nickel and graphite will all need to dramatically expand..For example, much of the world’s lithium reserves are concentrated in South America and Australia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides much of the world’s cobalt and Indonesia dominates nickel production..The key macroeconomic trend driving the urgency is China’s monopoly over the supply of several critical minerals, including lithium, graphite and cobalt, along with growing demand for EVs and the resultant price volatility for battery metals..For instance, the EU intends to prohibit the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles after 2035. The state of California has also imposed a ban on combustion cars by 2035, with other states possibly following suit. .Overall the US has mandated that 60% of all vehicles sold in the US after 2032 be electric; in Canada that number is 100% by 2035. All told, it represents more than a ten-fold increase in the number of EVs being produced in North America today..The problem is that it can take years, if not decades, to build the infrastructure needed to ensure adequate supplies..Ontario’s Ring of Fire is a case in point..Despite agreeing to tens of billions of dollars in subsidies for Volkswagen and Stellantis to build battery plants, neither the Ontario or federal governments have been able to secure road access agreements with holdout First Nations to feed the plants with the materials they need to churn out 1.5 million batteries per year. .It’s a dispute that has been ongoing for decades..On July 8, a lawyer representing indigenous groups called the government’s long-term electric battery plans a “fool’s errand.”.However, the GlobalData report notes Canada has the potential to be a major lithium producer depending on the outcome of the proposed merger between Swiss giant Glencore and Teck Resources..Last December, the Canadian government adopted the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy on the grounds that Canada is the only Western nation that has an established abundance of all those minerals..In March, Natural Resources Canada established the Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence to establish supply chains..Last week NRCan launched a second call for proposals to fund $40 million worth of technology research..That said, Canada has only a handful of commercial mines — mostly in Alberta and Quebec — but has yet to build a single processing plant. .Last week, Avalon Advanced Materials partnered with Finnish company Metso Corp. to build a lithium hydroxide facility near Thunder Bay, but don’t expect to reach an agreement to proceed until September.
Despite being rich in so-called ‘critical’ minerals needed for electric vehicles and solar panels, Canada is a long way from being a major player in global supply chains currently dominated by countries such as China, a new report suggests..According to US data provider GlobalData the future supply of minerals and metals needed to meet net-zero targets in 70 countries is uncertain and threatens to undermine ambitious energy transition plans..Materials such as lithium are deemed ‘critical’ if they happen to be in particularly short supply, monopolized by specific regions or at risk of significant disruption..“These widespread measures for a greener future are straining supplies of natural resources, especially the minerals required to produce energy transition technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and solar panels,” said GlobalData. .“Consequently, energy transition objectives will be delayed if critical mineral supply cannot meet demand.”.And it’s not just lithium; to keep pace with anticipated demand just for EVs, the provision of key minerals such as cobalt, nickel and graphite will all need to dramatically expand..For example, much of the world’s lithium reserves are concentrated in South America and Australia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides much of the world’s cobalt and Indonesia dominates nickel production..The key macroeconomic trend driving the urgency is China’s monopoly over the supply of several critical minerals, including lithium, graphite and cobalt, along with growing demand for EVs and the resultant price volatility for battery metals..For instance, the EU intends to prohibit the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles after 2035. The state of California has also imposed a ban on combustion cars by 2035, with other states possibly following suit. .Overall the US has mandated that 60% of all vehicles sold in the US after 2032 be electric; in Canada that number is 100% by 2035. All told, it represents more than a ten-fold increase in the number of EVs being produced in North America today..The problem is that it can take years, if not decades, to build the infrastructure needed to ensure adequate supplies..Ontario’s Ring of Fire is a case in point..Despite agreeing to tens of billions of dollars in subsidies for Volkswagen and Stellantis to build battery plants, neither the Ontario or federal governments have been able to secure road access agreements with holdout First Nations to feed the plants with the materials they need to churn out 1.5 million batteries per year. .It’s a dispute that has been ongoing for decades..On July 8, a lawyer representing indigenous groups called the government’s long-term electric battery plans a “fool’s errand.”.However, the GlobalData report notes Canada has the potential to be a major lithium producer depending on the outcome of the proposed merger between Swiss giant Glencore and Teck Resources..Last December, the Canadian government adopted the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy on the grounds that Canada is the only Western nation that has an established abundance of all those minerals..In March, Natural Resources Canada established the Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence to establish supply chains..Last week NRCan launched a second call for proposals to fund $40 million worth of technology research..That said, Canada has only a handful of commercial mines — mostly in Alberta and Quebec — but has yet to build a single processing plant. .Last week, Avalon Advanced Materials partnered with Finnish company Metso Corp. to build a lithium hydroxide facility near Thunder Bay, but don’t expect to reach an agreement to proceed until September.
