The federal government has announced up to $13.8 million in funding to support infrastructure for critical mineral exploration and development in the region.
The funding will support five critical minerals infrastructure development projects, but the funding is pending final confirmation from Natural Resources Canada.
Critical minerals are essential in products used for clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, electrical transmission lines and batteries.
“At the end of the day, for Canada to be economically competitive moving forward, we must seize the economic opportunities associated with the transition (to a low carbon future),” said the Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson. “We need to ensure that the recognition and the reality of climate change informs economic strategy and ensures that we are building industries that can actually create good jobs and economic opportunity moving forward.”
“There are enormous opportunities in areas like critical minerals and critical minerals processing, battery and electric manufacturing, biofuels, nuclear technology, carbon capture and negative emissions technologies, clean electricity production and hydrogen production, utilization and export.”
The funding for the projects is being delivered through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund.
CMIF is a key program under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy aimed at addressing infrastructure gaps, enabling critical minerals production and connecting resources to markets through various clean energy, electrification and transportation infrastructure projects.
“One of the most important of the priorities that have been identified by several provinces is the whole area of sustainable development of our critical minerals resources.”
“They represent, in my view, a generational economic opportunity for Canada, not simply the mining of critical minerals, but that is very important, but also building the processing facilities in Canada,” added Wilkinson. “Building battery manufacturing facilities in Canada, building electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in Canada, we have the opportunity to create tens of thousands of good jobs right across this country. Certainly, it would have enormous potential here in northern Ontario.”
The projects receiving funding are:
- Frontier Liuthium Inc. – $6.1 million – To advance Indigenous engagement and engineering for a 56-kilometre all-season road and electricity infrastructure for the Pakeagama (PAK) Lithium Project in Northwestern Ontario.
- Green TM Resources Canada Ltd. – $5.5 million – To upgrade 56 kilometres of existing roads and replace three bridges to support the development of a lithium mine near Armstrong, Ontario, and bypass residential communities.
- Rock Tech Lithium Inc. – $1.4 million – To upgrade and extend a 10-kilometre access road north of Nipigon, Ontario, that would enable the transportation of lithium from its Georgia Lake Project mine site, an open pit and underground mine.
- Generation PGM Inc. – $771,100 – To undertake engineering and design work for a five-kilometre access road, as well as feasibility studies for additional road and rail links to support the movement of copper concentrates from its Marathon Project to smelters and refiners.
“These projects will look to capitalize on the natural resources that exist here, but also to capitalize on the skilled workforce and the long history of mining in this region,” added Wilkinson. “These projects will enable the production of more lithium and more copper, critical minerals that are essential for batteries.”
The federal government says more funding decisions for projects under the CMIF to further critical minerals infrastructure development are expected in the coming months.
