Canada has dozens of critical minerals. Here are the key ones and how they are used
Global News
Six minerals — lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements — will be the primary focus of Canada's new strategy seeking to boost production and supply.
Canada’s new billion-dollar plan to boost its critical minerals sector will focus on six particular materials that are crucial components of electric vehicles, clean energy technologies and more.
While the strategy unveiled Friday lists 31 minerals it classified as “critical,” the six that are under the spotlight — lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements — hold “the most significant potential for Canadian economic growth,” according to the federal government.
Those mining sectors will also be the initial focus of the nearly $4 billion in federal investments under the new plan.
Here’s a closer look at those materials, what they’re used for, and where Canada currently stands with each of them.
Lithium is currently one of the most sought-after materials in the world. Not only is it a key component in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones and computers, it is also contained in metal alloys used in military armour, aircraft, and train components, as well as hydrogen fuel storage containers.
But its use in batteries makes lithium a key mineral for the global clean energy transition.
Although Canada does not produce lithium, it has “large hard rock spodumene deposits and brine-based lithium resources,” from which lithium can be extracted. The new strategy seeks to introduce domestic production facilities that take advantage of those resources.
Canada’s lithium reserves were the sixth-largest in the world as of 2020, but they only account for 2.5 per cent of the global supply. Australia and Chile lead the world in both reserves and production.