Canada announces first critical minerals projects under G7 partnership

The 25 initiatives include purchase agreements for a Quebec graphite mine and investments to scale up a rare earth elements refinery in Ontario.

Canada announced on Friday the first round of projects under a G7 critical minerals production alliance envisioned as a counterweight to China’s dominance in the sector.

The 25 initiatives include purchase agreements for a Quebec graphite mine and investments to scale up a rare earth elements refinery in Ontario.

Canada’s energy and natural resources minister said the alliance’s first initiatives should be seen as a clear signal the group is serious about reducing market concentrations, safeguarding national security and driving investment.

“As we move swiftly to reduce dependence on concentrated supply chains, our collective commitment is clear. Every delay is a concession of economic and national security interests. We will no longer accept that,” said Minister Tim Hodgson.

China is a major critical mineral miner and even bigger refiner, with an average market share of 70 per cent for 19 out 20 key minerals, according to the International Energy Agency. For rare earth elements — which are hard to extract and used to make powerful magnets found in everything from electric vehicles to advanced radar systems — its position is even more dominant, accounting for 91 per cent of global refining production.

The country has in recent months leveraged that position to tighten export limits on such minerals, ramping up pressure on G7 ministers to advance talks on how to diversify their supply chains during their two days of meetings in Toronto this week.

Some temporary relief arrived just before those talks began on Thursday when China agreed as part of a deal with the United States to pause export controls for one year on some rare earth minerals.

Yet the U.S. energy secretary suggested in Toronto that this still underlined the need for the G7 to establish its own ability to mine and process its own minerals.