Domestic scandium and graphite are among the critical minerals Ottawa plans to stockpile as it moves to secure Canada’s supply chain and support G7 allies amid growing concerns over Beijing’s dominance of the market.
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson announced last week, along with G7 partners, new initiatives to secure critical mineral supply chains and reduce dependencies in a market widely dominated by Beijing. Ottawa said these include stockpiling critical minerals to “further safeguard Canada’s national security and sovereignty,” but did not specify which ones.
Quebec-based Nouveau Monde Graphite, with which Ottawa entered an offtake agreement as part of its recently announced measures, said the deal with the federal government includes the option to stockpile graphite, which is widely used in electric car batteries, solar and wind technologies, and the defence sector. An offtake agreement involves Ottawa buying a set amount of a mine’s production….