Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)

National Research Council Canada (NRC)

Transport Canada (TC)

Successful implementation of the CCMS will require a coordinated, multi-pronged approach, given that responsibilities for specific areas and initiatives related to critical minerals fall within the purview of multiple federal departments. An interdepartmental governance structure, under the direction of an Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM)-level Horizontal Initiative Oversight Committee with representation from all partner departments, will be maintained to ensure oversight, facilitate coordination amongst departments, and provide strategic direction.

NRCan’s Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence will serve as the Government of Canada lead on the development and coordination of Canada’s policies and programs on critical minerals and will provide strategic oversight of, and direction on, the development and implementation of all areas of focus and initiatives included in the CCMS. This includes managing the interdepartmental governance structure.

The ADM-level Horizontal Initiative Oversight Committee is chaired by the ADM of the Lands and Minerals Sector, NRCan and includes ADM representation from all partner departments (CIRNAC, ISED, NRC, and TC), as well as ADM representation from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Department of National Defence (DND), Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), Infrastructure Canada, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and Canada’s Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). The Oversight Committee will be responsible for providing direction on the development and implementation of the CCMS, supporting cross-departmental coordination, ensuring timely and accurate reporting, and identifying issues that may require Deputy Minister engagement.

The Deputy Minister Climate Plan Implementation Committee, co-chaired by NRCan and ECCC, provides strategic oversight of, and direction on, the development and implementation of federal policies, programs, regulations and services related to clean growth and climate change, including critical minerals.

The Oversight Committee will be supported by four Director General (DG)-level committees that will provide oversight and guidance of the most significant initiatives under the CCMS:

• DG Critical Minerals Innovation Advisory Committee (co-chairs: NRCan; The Mining Association of Canada) – this committee ensures alignment with the mining industry and other stakeholders, and to foster collaboration in areas of common interest.
• DG Committee on Ring of Fire (co-chairs: NRCan; Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario) – this committee addresses priorities, challenges and emerging issues related to potential critical minerals development in the Ring of Fire region.
• DG Infrastructure Investment Review Committee – Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF) (co-chairs: NRCan; TC) – this committee will provide oversight and issue recommendations on targeted infrastructure investments through the CMIF.
• DG Investment Review Committee - Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) (chair: ISED) – this committee will provide advice and guidance on contributions towards proposals that support government priorities and objectives, consistent with SIF’s Terms and Conditions.

A director-level Critical Minerals Strategy Implementation Committee, chaired by NRCan, supports the Oversight Committee to guide the development and implementation of the CCMS. There are also four interdepartmental working groups:

• The SIF Critical Minerals Interdepartmental Working Group, co-chaired by NRCan and ISED, assesses incoming Statements of Interest and makes recommendations to the SIF Critical Minerals Director Consensus Committee to ensure project assessments are approached from a practical, whole-of-government perspective that integrates horizontal policy considerations, cross-government expertise, and other potential funding mechanisms. The SIF Critical Minerals Director Consensus Committee, chaired by SIF, assesses interdepartmental recommendations from Critical Minerals Interdepartmental Working Group and develops consensus on all recommendations made to the Investment Review Committee (IRC).
• The Sub-Committee on Performance Measurement, chaired by NRCan, supports reporting on performance and results for the programs and initiatives under the CCMS and supports access to ongoing and timely data on progress to support decision-making.
• The Sub-Committee on Communications, chaired by NRCan, supports communications for programs and initiatives under the CCMS.
• The Working-level Infrastructure Investment Committee, co-chaired by NRCan and TC, ensures that applications assessed by the CMIF are reviewed by a broad array of Government of Canada experts, and that projects recommended for funding will meaningfully contribute to the development or increase in critical minerals production in Canada.

Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence (CMCE)

• Launched the interdepartmental CCMS Horizontal Initiative Governance Framework and the CCMS Horizontal Initiative Results Framework to guide implementation of the Strategy.
• Supported the launch of the Critical Minerals Traceability Project Grants which aims to support supply chain traceability projects designed to enhance Canada’s value proposition in strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
• Facilitated meaningful engagement and outreach with stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms, including (1) Handling over 150 requests through the Critical Minerals Concierge Service which supports industry partners and stakeholders in navigating federal support measures and regulatory frameworks to advance critical mineral projects; and, (2) Sharing key critical minerals information and updates with over 700 subscribers through a quarterly newsletter (53% subscriber growth rate in one year).
• Conducted research, analysis, and engagement to support critical mineral policy development to strengthen the resiliency and sustainability of value chains, including critical mineral project development, financing/tax incentives, economic and national security, traceability, standards development, and support to international engagements.

Technology and Innovation

• NRCan’s CanmetMATERIALS, the largest facility dedicated to materials science R&D in Canada, is expanding its research program in the midstream of critical mineral value chains. In fiscal year 2023-24, CanmetMATERIALS:
  • Completed five research projects launched with Budget 2021 funding on battery recycling, lithium recovery from brines, and high-conductivity materials. All projects are advancing to the pilot demonstration scale with industry receptors.
  • Launched and completed a suite of one-year exploratory projects on material development, manufacturing scale-up, and recycling of 1) battery materials; 2) magnetic materials; 3) and master alloys (to be used in downstream applications such as automotive components and structures). These projects leveraged value chain integration, accelerated materials discovery, and international collaboration to deliver initial results and forge partnerships that have built the foundation for impactful 3-year projects starting 2024-25.
  • Completed capital planning and initiated procurement requests for key equipment to support the lab’s critical minerals research program and advance technologies toward commercialization with industry collaboration.
• CMRDD Program launched a second call for proposals on July 18, 2023, with a closing date of September 29, 2023 receiving 72 applications.
• The program then undertook the process of assessing all applications to ensure they met program eligibility criteria and evaluate them on their merit.
• Following assessments, a robust governance and review process was established to approve and prioritize projects. The outcome of this process resulted in the recommendation to support 10 key critical mineral projects for a total of $40M that will help advance the industry.
• NRC launched the Critical Battery Materials Initiative to establish automated, AI-enabled platforms that can discover new critical battery materials and processes in a third of the time it takes today, contributing to the growth of the Canadian battery supply chain. NRC also signed two multi-year collaborative projects between University of Waterloo and University of Toronto on battery materials discovery and self-driving labs, respectively.

Critical Minerals Geoscience and Data (CMGD)

• The CMGD Initiative launched a public call for proposals and received 17 contribution proposals from provincial and territorial governments. One agreement has been signed with the remaining agreements planned to be approved in fiscal year 2024–25.
• The Canada Geological Map Compilation database (GSC Open File Report 9169) has been published.
  This dataset captures detailed information not previously available, and it is presented at a national scale. A new hierarchical generalized lithology classification scheme has been developed to subdivide the original rock types into 35 classes, including a semi-quantitative measure of classification uncertainty. This scheme will support a range of downstream machine learning applications such as mineral potential maps.
• The research entitled “Applications of Natural Language Processing to Geoscience Text Data and Prospectivity Modelling” has been published in the Natural Resources Research (available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-023-10216-1).
• Three mineral potential maps and datasets have been published at Geo.ca (available online at https://geo.ca/initiatives/critical-minerals/).
• An additional 38 internal research activities were conducted, resulting in 75 scientific publications and outreach products including a two-day symposium on critical minerals resources with national and international experts.

Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF)

• The $1.5 billion CMIF was launched with its first national call for proposals (November 20, 2023, to February 29, 2024). The contribution funding is to support preconstruction and project development activities and the deployment of eligible clean energy and transportation infrastructures projects. Awards for projects are expected to be announced beginning in fiscal year 2024–25. Transport Canada representatives continue to work closely with NRCan in the review of CMIF applications for transportation and energy projects.
• In March 2024, the CMIF launched the first call for proposals for its Indigenous grants stream, providing up to $3.5 million for eligible projects. A total of $13.5 million in grant funding will be available until 2030 to support Indigenous groups to undertake engagement, capacity building, and knowledge-sharing activities related to clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects that align with the CMIF program objectives. This call remains open to applicants until December 31, 2024.

Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI)
Activity 1:

Advancing critical minerals data:

• Initiated the development of a critical mineral data suppression mitigation strategy. In collaboration with Statistics Canada, implemented a targeted waiver campaign to seek confidentiality waivers from key industry respondents in the annual and monthly Mineral Production surveys.
• Relaunched the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Committee on Mineral Statistics to examine critical mineral data issues.

Enhancing international engagements and investment attraction

• Completed four investment attraction seminars (held in London, Paris, New York and Toronto) that have facilitated close to 270 business-to-business (B2B) connections.
• Held a series of bilateral engagement with international partners including 1) the United States through the Joint Action Plan and Energy Transformation Task Force; 2) Japan through the Memorandum of Cooperation on Battery Supply Chains signed September 2023, the Canada-Japan Joint Economic Committee and the Canada-Japan Energy Policy Dialogue; 3) the European Union through the Bilateral Dialogue on Raw Materials; 4) Germany through the Canada-Germany Energy Partnership; 5) France through the Canada-France Dialogue on Critical Minerals; 6) Chile through the Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Mining announced in March 2024; and 7) Australia through the launch of a joint statement on critical minerals collaboration in March 2024.
• As part of the Canadian delegation, participated in the negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council on the Mineral Code.

At the March 2024 annual convention of Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)

• NRCan and member countries of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) organization co-hosted a Sustainability Program session on transparency requirements for junior mining companies.
• A high-level meeting of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) partners was convened by the United States with non-MSP countries of the Western Hemisphere to hear their views and goals for engagement with the MSP. A joint statement was issued following the meeting to announce the establishment of the MSP Forum that would expand the MSP’s existing engagements with minerals-producing countries. The focus of the MSP Forum will be on advancing and accelerating individual projects with high Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and policies that contribute to diverse and resilient supply chains as well as provide local value addition.
• The 9th Annual International Mines Ministers Summit (IMMS) was held with participation of 20 government ministers responsible for mining in their countries, leaders of industry, financial institutions, and civil society. The summit focused on responsible mining and energy transition.

Activity 2:

NRCan joint research with other countries

• CanmetMINING lead several international critical minerals research projects, including research collaboration with the UK (University of Exeter and Cornish Lithium) on lithium ecotoxicity, and ongoing discussions with France and Australia, and possibly, Germany and the United States. Areas of research include lithium recovery from brine, comminution of minerals, biotechnology and environment-related topics.
• CanmetMATERIALS completed two one-year exploratory projects on aluminum-cerium alloy manufacturing and the recycling of aluminum alloys.

Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative (CMMI) with United States and Australia:

• Received four grant proposals from academic and not-for-profit organizations, two of which have been awarded for a total of $16,500.
• Hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), CMMI scientists participated in a field trip and two full-day workshops on shaping the future of collaborative research.
• Hosted by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), monthly working group meetings and bi-annual steering committee meetings were held with CMMI scientists to assess progress on projects and share information on national critical minerals activities.

Participation in the Centre for Resource Recovery and Recycling (CR3):

• In 2023, both CanmetMATERIALS and CanmetMINING began their participation in the CR3, an international consortium on critical minerals circular economy research and development. The consortium agreement is now signed by both CanmetMATERIALS and CanmetMINING.
• A 12-month research project by CanmetMINING, Identify and Develop Processes to Recover and Produce Saleable Silica from Mine Wastes, has been approved by CR3. In addition, CanmetMATERIALS is participating in the Decarbonization of Blast Furnace Operations project.

Activity 3:

Critical minerals supply chain traceability:

• As part of the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, the Critical Minerals Traceability Project Grant was launched in December 2023. This grant supports the development of commercial-ready traceability pilots to strengthen ESG transparency in the Canadian supply chains. Funding recipients are planned to be announced in summer 2024.
• Canada provided voluntary contribution of $325,000 to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in fiscal year 2023-24 as part of Canada’s membership to the IEA Clean Energy Transition Programme (CETP). This contribution helps advance work on critical minerals ESG transparency and traceability by IEA; an IEA report on critical mineral supply chain traceability is planned for release by the end of 2024.

World Bank Climate Smart Mining Initiative:

• Canada announced its support to the World Bank Climate Smart Mining Initiative during PDAC 2024. Canada’s contribution has secured its seat on the Climate Smart Mining Initiative steering committee and the World Bank Extractives Global Programmatic Support Multi-Donor Trust Fund Partnership Council. The latter advises on a range of World Bank programs and projects aimed at helping resource-dependent developing countries manage resources to support poverty reduction and boost inclusive, sustainable growth, and development.

Energy Resources Governance Initiative (ERGI):

• To support the U.S-led ERGI, NRCan announced in 2023 a two-year agreement for $1 million with the University of British Columbia to deliver training to mining sector employees seeking to advance careers in the private and public sector on responsible mining principles.

Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI):

• Canada was re-affirmed as Chair of the EITI Board Validation Committee in September 2023. During this period, eight meetings were chaired.
• Canada hosted a Board meeting for the first time (February to March 2024) in Toronto.
• Over 1,400 report submissions were validated through the NRCan eServices Portal. Of these submissions, 561 unique reports were received disclosing over CAD$244 billion in payments to nearly 1,300 payees in 107 countries around the world. ESTMA compliance activities (e.g. reviews, mailouts) reached a combined total of over 800 entities, supporting data integrity and effective administration of ESTMA.
• The ESTMA Data Portal, a collaboration between NRCan and Statistics Canada, was updated in September 2023 to improve its functionality and ease of use. NRCan collected feedback from stakeholders through meetings, events, and an online survey to support this update. The enhanced platform promotes increased transparency and ensures that the portal is responsive to the needs of users. NRCan also presented this work at the Canada Open Data Summit in November 2023.

Indigenous Natural Resources Partnership (INRP)

• Due to high demand, NRCan has paused the intake of INRP applications in May 2023. Assessments are ongoing.
• As of March 31, 2024, nine contribution agreements have been signed for a total of $13.4 million – representing a commitment of 53.6% of the $25 million budget allocation. These agreements support a range of activities, including engagement, training, and project development for First Nations located in Western and Northern Canada.

Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)

• In fiscal year 2023-24, ISED delivered targeted support to critical minerals projects through funding announced in Budget 2022 for the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS), with priority given to advanced manufacturing, processing, and recycling applications. The initiative is still in its early stages.
• SIF-supported critical minerals projects, such as Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium and E3 Lithium, have already begun work towards responsible production of lithium and scandium for the EV battery and advanced manufacturing sectors.
• ISED has maintained close collaboration channels with key players across the federal landscape, such as NRCan, the Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), to ensure a coordinated approach to investments. The department has also worked closely with other levels of government to ensure ongoing alignment.
• ISED has continued to collaborate closely with the private sector to attract and secure strategic investments for critical minerals activities in Canada, strengthen Canada’s clean growth ecosystem.

Northern Regulatory Initiative (NRI)

• Over the course of fiscal year 2023-24, CIRNAC has worked with northern governments, rights holders, and stakeholders in Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut to design and implement actions under the NRI. The NRI dedicated $3.277 million to support:
  • The participation of otherwise unfunded Indigenous governments and organizations in impact assessment and land use planning processes in areas of critical mineral and enabling infrastructure potential, including the review of the Recommended Nunavut Land Use Plan submitted for tri-party approval in June 2023;
  • Early planning phases for a regional study of the Slave Geological Province in the Northwest Territories requested by the Tłı̨chǫ Government;
  • Work to identify gaps and opportunities in Crown consultation; and,
  • Regulatory dialogues which bring rights holders and stakeholders together to share perspectives, build relationships, and co-develop action plans to advance common regulatory priorities.

Deborah Yu

Director General

Policy and Economics Branch

Lands and Minerals Sector

Natural Resources Canada

580 Booth Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E6

(343) 630-2380

Deborah.Yu@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

There was no new processing facility for critical minerals in operation or under construction in an urban location.

One new processing facility for critical minerals in operation or under construction in a rural location.