Canada As A Critical Minerals Refiner Is Globally Irrelevant

Core Insights - Canada is aiming to enhance its critical minerals processing capacity to reduce dependence on China, which currently dominates the refining of these minerals [3][6][21] - The Canadian government has announced significant investments and projects to boost its critical minerals supply chain, including a $1 billion project for processing capacity [4][5][9] Group 1: Global Mineral Production - Australia accounts for 37% of total world lithium production, while Indonesia leads in nickel at 59%, China dominates rare earth elements at 69%, and the DRC produces about 75% of global cobalt [1] - In 2024, China held a 96% share of global refined graphite, 78% of refined cobalt, 70% of lithium, and 44% of copper, with a 91% share in rare earth elements refining [2] Group 2: Canada's Mineral Processing Capacity - Canada has established infrastructure for processing aluminum and uranium but has minimal refining capacity for key energy-transition metals like lithium and rare earth elements [7] - The first rare earths refinery in Canada opened in 2024, expected to produce 400 tonnes of NdPr metals annually [7] Group 3: Investment and Strategic Initiatives - The Canadian government is working on a $1 billion project to expand critical minerals processing capacity, alongside a $70 billion investment pledge from the UAE [4][5] - Canada is backing various initiatives, including a synthetic graphite plant and scaling up rare earth elements processing, with significant federal funding [14][15] Group 4: Challenges and Future Outlook - Canada has substantial reserves of rare earths but only one producing rare earths mine, highlighting the gap in production compared to China, which produced 270,000 tonnes in 2024 [17][20] - The Canadian Climate Institute estimates that Canada would need $30 billion in capital investments by 2040 to meet domestic demand for critical minerals [16]