The Mining Association of Canada | The Canadian Mining Story: Economic Impacts and Drivers for the Global Energy Transition 2023 52 Canada’s list is made up of 31 critical minerals. Of these, the Strategy prioritizes six: lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements. The Strategy deems that these minerals represent the greatest opportunity to fuel domestic manufacturing. Several other minerals are highlighted as opportunities for export, to be processed elsewhere. The Strategy aims to create “value chains” in Canada for critical minerals: from exploration to recycling and advanced manufacturing. According to the Strategy, “[a]t present, the production and processing of many critical minerals are geographically concentrated, making global supply vulnerable to several risks… By ramping up critical mineral production and strengthening their affiliated value chains, Canada and its trusted international partners can reduce their dependency on high-risk imports as demand forecasts outpace mineral supply and investment plans.” The Strategy identifies three value chains as having the highest potential for Canada: • Clean technologies, • Information and communication technologies, and • Advanced manufacturing inputs and materials. These value chains are based on critical minerals that are underdeveloped in Canada and will benefit from government intervention. The government hopes that, through working with allies, this approach will attract investment and add resiliency to the value chains. Canada’s list of critical minerals also includes minerals that are required for other areas of the economy. Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of potash, which is primarily used to produce fertilizer. In 2021, Canada accounted for 31% (22.5 million tonnes) of the world’s total potash production and 38% (21.6 million tonnes) of the world’s total potash exports. Because Russia and Belarus are the second and third leading producers of potash, supplies have been interrupted by the disruption of the war in Ukraine. “ There is no green energy transition without critical minerals, which is why their supply chain resilience is an increasing priority for advanced economies. Every stage of the critical mineral value chain presents an opportunity for Canada, from exploration to recycling and everything in between.” -Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy
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