“This is a game-changer,” said Greg Andrews, chief executive of Search Minerals Inc, which is developing a rare earths mine in Newfoundland and Labrador. Rare earths are used to make magnets that transfer electricity into motion for EVs.
While Canada has long been known as a major gold producer, its efforts to mine and process EV minerals have lagged other nations, including China.
Miners also have complained that Ottawa’s recent investments in battery components and facilities – including a battery gigafactory in Windsor that is a joint venture between Stellantis and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution – overlooked those facilities’ need to procure minerals to build the EV products.
“The world economy is going green. Canada can be in the vanguard, or we can be left behind,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday when she presented the budget to parliament.
The spending does not include plans to lessen…
