Canada should re-take its crown as a global metals producer and rise to the challenge of the green energy transition by investing in smelting and critical mineral capacity, according to a veteran metallurgist in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.
For most of the 20th century, the country produced eight precious and critical metals and it was the world’s top producer of nickel. Though Canada has lost that standing, a “1939 moment” when the government spurred nickel and copper production for World War Two could revitalize the industry, Phillip Mackey told The Northern Miner’s International Metals Symposium.
“Strategies and technologies only deliver promises, people and processes deliver results,” Mackey said at the London event in December. “Time is the enemy of a project. The longer it stretches out, the more it costs, and the less chance it’ll actually be built.”
To return to being a strong producer and keep smelting capacity inside the country, Mackey suggests quickening permits, hiking investment in mining education and research and development, and rolling out policy tools such as price floors. He also said partnerships with Indigenous groups are key, such as the 1995 Raglan impact benefit agreement between Glencore (LSE: GLEN) and Inuit groups in Quebec.
Watch the full presentation below:
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