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14 www.lexpert.ca Feature investment in critical minerals in Canada," says Krawchuk. "e good news is that we see global demand increasing, the pricing getting higher, which helps with the feasibility of taking a mine to profitable production." She points out that similar economics apply as prices rise for precious metals like gold and silver. "Do we now have a chance to go back to reserves still in the ground and look at whether we go further down or use technology to find high- demand assets?" Sander Grieve practises public market finance and mergers and acqui- sitions at Bennett Jones LLP, focusing on global mining exploration, development, and extraction. He says that Canada, along with the United States and Australia, is a desirable country for finding and producing both critical minerals and precious metals. However, he notes that Canadian public policy must keep an eye on "remaining competitive" in attracting mining invest- ment. "Australia would love to have that investment, and the US has become a more competitive jurisdiction," he says. He adds that even state laws can make a difference in the US – Nevada is much friendlier to mining than California. To that end, the federal budget earlier this year allocated up to $3.8 billion to invest in responsible mineral processing and recycling, expand exploration, and provide tax credits for critical-mineral exploration, along with providing tax credits for criti- cal-mineral exploration. e federal Ministry of Natural Resources says Canada has some of the world's largest known reserves and resources of rare earth elements, estimated at 14 million tonnes of rare earth oxides in 2021. A rare-earth demonstration mine also opened in 2021, the second such pilot in Canada. Grieve says that, in the wake of some of the geopolitical risks to mining in other jurisdic- tions, Canada needs policies focusing on the domestic mining of these critical minerals. "We've seen various governments renegoti- ating mining tenements, cancelling ownership rights in various parts of the world, national- izing certain areas of mining," he says. "at doesn't happen here, but regulations and the permitting process can sometimes lead to the same result – we need to be sure we're attracting investment and not turning off potential investors." Canada's place in the critical mineral supply chain According to the United States Geological Survey, last year, Canada produced five percent of the world's nickel, 2.8 percent of copper, 2.5 percent of cobalt, and one percent of the world's supply of graphite. While the search for critical minerals in Canada is ongoing, it does not produce any lithium or rare earth elements, though Canada does have untapped reserves of both. Leanne Krawchuk, a partner with Dentons Canada LLP and the Canada co-chair and global lead for Dentons' mining group, says that Canada's 2021 critical-minerals strategy has prioritized 31 minerals. ese include cobalt, coltan, copper, graphite, lithium, and rare earth elements. Canada lacks mines producing several of these minerals. "We need a tremendous acceleration of GLOBAL SUPPLY FOR NICKEL, COBALT, LITHIUM, AND GRAPHITE, 2021 "COMPANIES LIKE TO BE IN STABLE JURISDICTIONS, BUT THERE IS A SHRINKING PIPELINE OF THOSE" Amanda Linett STIKEMAN ELLIOTT LLP Rest of the world 19% Argentina 6% Rest of the world 5% Russia 3% Mozambique 3% Brazil 7% China 14% Chile 26% COBALT MINE PRODUCTION IN 2021 LITHIUM MINE PRODUCTION IN 2021 GRAPHITE MINE PRODUCTION IN 2021 NICKEL MINE PRODUCTION IN 2021 Philippines 3% Australia 3% Russia 4% Democratic Republic of the Congo 71% Australia 55% Rest of the world 33% New Caledonia 7% Russia 9% Indonesia 37% China 82% Philippines 14% Source: Ontario's Critical Minerals Strategy 2022–2027 report Note: Country totals do not add up due to rounding

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