A federal-provincial-territorial task team has been established to develop a Canadian critical minerals inventory, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said on Monday.
The inventory would be used to build an integrated, all-Canadian critical minerals and battery value chain.
The statement comes while the House of Commons is holding meetings about critical minerals supply chains and what role Canada should be playing in building a domestic and global lithium-ion battery ecosystem.
Canada has vast mineral deposits that could feed into the electric vehicle supply chain. These include materials such as nickel, lithium, cobalt, graphite, copper and manganese.
The country, however, should also focus on turning these into high-value chemicals, cathodes, anodes and even engage in the production of lithium-ion batteries, Benchmark MD Simon Moores has said.
Creating a complete value chain would create jobs and opportunities for northern and remote communities.