Funds will take advantage of prolific rare earths and encourage domestic processing.

Mineral exploration continues to play an integral role in shaping the economy of Saskatchewan, a province that hosts 27 out of 34 minerals deemed critical by the Canadian government, from potash to uranium.

The Canadian Prairie province is now positioning itself as a key producer of rare earth elements (REE). In that vein, Canada Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson recently announced more than C$16 million (US$11.7 million) in federal funding to support the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), which has taken the lead in processing rare earths and upgrading them into products needed for high-tech devices and other commercial applications.

"This will help ensure critical mineral security for Canada's allies and partners while preventing these strategic critical minerals from being sent to overseas jurisdictions that threaten our national security," said Jeremy Harrison, Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Research Council.

Securing homegrown wealth

Since 2020, the SRC has been processing rare earths and commercializing value-added REE products at its facility in Saskatoon, the first of its kind in Canada.

Rare earths are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, personal electronics, as well as a host of industrial applications, with Canada sporting some of the largest known reserves, estimated at over 15.2 million metric tons in 2023.

The funds will also enable SRC to acquire domestic supplies of the rare earths mineral bastnaesite for processing, which will be integrated into SRC's Rare Earth Processing Facility. SRC will process the ore acquired from Vital Metals Ltd.'s Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories to produce a mixed rare earth product, which will be further processed using SRC's solvent extraction and metal smelting technology to produce rare earth metals.

(The REEs produced from SRC's recent purchase of bastnaesite alone could be used to power 62,500 EVs.)

The recent funding builds on an earlier infusion of nearly C$13.5 million (US$9.9 million) from PrairiesCan and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to establish the Saskatoon rare earth facility and develop new processing technologies. SRC will also collaborate with a local educational institution to develop and deliver a training program for Indigenous students to operate bastnaesite processing equipment.

This is one of the first investments representing a greater collaboration called for in the new Framework to Build a Green Prairie Economy. The framework is a long-term commitment to better coordination across government departments and prairie partners to prioritize opportunities for economic growth and well-paying jobs across the Prairies.

"Our government is investing in the economic opportunities presented by our critical minerals wealth, ensuring that Canadians will benefit from the mining, processing and sale of rare earth elements and other critical minerals through the creation of good jobs, expansion of the mining sector, and prospects for future innovations and reduced emissions," said Wilkinson.

Better data, better mines

The investment of C$209,330 (US$153,687) from NRCan, under the Critical Minerals Geoscience Data (CMGD) Initiative, will help SRC create a publicly available database of mineral characteristics.

The CMGD initiative aims to strengthen Canadian critical minerals supply chains and support the sustainable development of priority minerals that are essential to key industries and national security, providing funding to advance the availability of valuable data and insights on the location, quality, and economic feasibility of critical minerals resources.

The new database will help expand the understanding of critical mineral deposits in Canada, improve predictions concerning deposits that can be identified by sensor-based sorting, reduce the costs of developing critical mineral deposits into mines and reduce energy consumption and mining waste.

"The funding announced by PrairiesCan means SRC will be able to expand its current Rare Earth Processing Facility to process a wider range of rare earth minerals – developing additional capacity and knowledge within Canada for this burgeoning industry. SRC's Rare Earth Processing Facility will soon be operational, making the province a domestic rare earth technology hub and an essential part of Canada's critical minerals supply chain," said Saskatchewan Research Council President and CEO Mike Crabtree.