The USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the European Commission established a new partnership aimed at securing the supply of critical materials for energy transition.

The Minerals Security Partnership aims to catalyse investment from governments and the private sector for strategic opportunities in critical materials for energy transition that adhere to the highest environmental, social and governance standards. Founder members include the Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the USA and the European Commission. The partnership covers critical material supply chains for batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.

As well as the announcement of the Minerals Security Partnership, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (DPAC) also saw announcements from Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, including a commitment to build an end-to-end supply chain from mining to manufacturing and recycling.

Canada intends to leverage its resources, mining, and innovation ecosystems to position itself as the supplier of choice for global markets. The Government of Canada has developed a list of 31 minerals considered critical for the sustainable economic success of Canada and to position Canada as the leading mining nation, as set out in the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan.

According to Project Blue’s Critical Materials Risk Index, Canada is currently mines/refines 23 out of the 40 critical materials covered, slightly ahead of Australia with 21 but behind the USA with 29. However, it is building out a complete local supply chain that provides security of supply and many critical materials, such as Gallium, Magnesium, Rare Earths, Tungsten and Antimony, still heavily rely on China for refined production. Local supply will involve higher costs, both financial and environmental, testing the long-term commitment of governments to these initiatives.