Now is the time to develop our critical minerals

By Michael Goehring, President and CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia

As countries around the world continue efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, British Columbia is well positioned to be a preferred supplier of the critical minerals needed to transition to a low-carbon future and meet our climate targets. At stake are billions of dollars in economic development, thousands of high-paying jobs and the opportunity to accelerate economic reconciliation with Indigenous people across British Columbia.

Canada and our allies are actively collaborating to reduce their dependence on Chinese and Russian supplies of the critical minerals we need to meet our climate goals and economic and national security objectives. 

The Government of Canada has set an ambitious goal to develop the entire critical minerals value chain, including exploration, extraction, processing, refining, recycling and, ultimately, manufacturing. In fact, the federal government’s Critical Minerals Strategy serves as a blueprint for enhancing Canada’s existing leadership position as a responsible global supplier of critical minerals. 

Home to 17 of the 31 minerals on Canada’s critical minerals list, British Columbia can play a crucial role in Canada’s plan to onshore new critical mineral supply chains. British Columbia is Canada’s leading producer of copper and steelmaking coal, second largest producer of silver and only producer of molybdenum, and it produces many other critical minerals, including aluminum, antimony, germanium, indium, lead and zinc. Further, British Columbia’s mines and smelters have one of the smallest carbon footprints globally, due to their long-standing and widespread use of clean electricity.

Looking ahead, the 2023 Federal Budget includes $80 billion in tax incentives over ten years for critical minerals, electrification and clean technologies. This builds on the federal government’s $3.8 billion commitment for critical minerals in the 2022 Federal Budget and 2022 Fall Economic Statement. 

The top budget measure for Canada’s critical minerals sector is the Clean Technology Manufacturing Tax Credit. It amounts to 30% of the cost of new machinery and equipment used for extracting, processing, manufacturing or recycling critical minerals essential for clean technology supply chains. This should help accelerate efforts to attract the capital needed to advance nascent opportunities in the mining and smelting industry to supply North America’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing sectors.

This support from government, coupled with private sector initiatives and investments, for example, in electric vehicle battery facilities in southern Ontario, should serve as a significant catalyst for the BC and Canadian mining industries to grow their global leadership position in the exploration, extraction, processing and refining of critical minerals.

Yet significant challenges persist, particularly in the permitting and authorization processes for major mining projects. Permitting timelines must be expedited without compromising environmental protection. After all, global investors are looking to Canada - and other jurisdictions - when evaluating where to put their money.

To this end, the Mining Association of British Columbia has made recommendations to the federal and provincial governments. One crucial recommendation is for both the BC and federal governments to collaborate at joint project tables to align all permitting and authorization processes, including determining the “best-placed regulator” in overlapping areas. In environmental assessments, for example, substitution of one process for the other should be the rule, not the exception.

These measures go together with actions needed to make sure Indigenous Nations have the governance, administrative and technical capacity to participate—on their terms—in major critical mineral project reviews. Equally vital is senior government support for financial instruments to backstop Indigenous Nations taking equity and co-ownership positions.

The stakes are high. In British Columbia, there are 13 medium-term critical mineral projects in the queue, along with processing and recycling opportunities. Several of these could enter the regulatory process within 12 to 18 months. These are in addition to six near-term gold, copper and steelmaking coal projects that are 12 to 18 months away from making final investment decisions. 

This presents an unprecedented opportunity that may pass us by if we fail to act swiftly.

With demand for critical minerals projected to increase six-fold by 2040, the time for bold action is now. The opportunity is right beneath our feet.