Ann: Mallina Lithium Project Update, page-73

Canada is planning to invest at least C$2 billion to accelerate the production and processing of critical minerals, including nickel, lithium, cobalt, and magnesium – needed for the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is due to release its budget on Thursday.

Just last month Canada announced financial support for the building two facilities that will make battery materials for EV, and one battery Gigafactory, but no agreements have been announced yet for mineral extraction or refining.

“There are some particular projects that we are looking at and working on at the present time,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told Reuters.

All the potential projects, “whether they’re extraction or processing, need to be accelerated significantly, and that’s what the critical mineral strategy will be about,” he said.

Since opening new mines can have a long lead time, Wilkinson said some of the projects being considered involve tailings from existing mines from which critical minerals could be extracted.

“We’re looking at brines and oil sands, tailings ponds, and all of those things,” he said.

This comes just weeks after Australia’s PM Scott Morrison announced a $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative to “supercharge” our critical minerals sector.

Plus, the Federal budget also included a $2 billion critical minerals fund and $200 million critical minerals accelerator strategy.

GM, Ford and Stellantis plan to make EVs in Canada

Canada has a multi-billion-dollar fund set up to invest in green technologies and is trying to woo companies involved in all levels of the EV supply chain to safeguard the future of its manufacturing heartland in Ontario as the world seeks to cut carbon emissions.

Ontario is geographically close to US-based automakers in Michigan and Ohio, and General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motors (NYSE:F) and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) have all announced plans to make electric vehicles at factories in the province.

Notably, GM Canada president and MD Scott Bell said last month that Canada’s abundance of nickel and other raw materials would be used to make cathode active material in the province.