Fed's Supporting Northern Ontario’s Strong Mining Sector
Nickel Belt MP Marc G. Serré recently opened the Association for Mineral Exploration conference in Vancouver. It was an opportunity to connect with prospectors, governments, investors, Indigenous partners. It was also an opportunity for MP Serré to share details of the developments happening back home in Northern Ontario.
“An exciting mining revolution is taking place here in our backyards. When you combine proactive partnerships with all levels of governments and with eager investors/partners, you continue to unlock Canada’s incredible mining potential,” said Serré.
There are currently 11 operational critical mineral mines and an additional 14 critical mineral projects in various phases of development in Ontario. In 2022, Ontario’s mining sector produced $13.5 billion worth of minerals, which accounted for 22% of Canada’s total production value. Northern Ontario’s mining success is recognized globally. The sector has continued to grow and is driven by the willingness of governments to work together on securing key investments, on prioritizing robust safety measures, and on the willingness of mining companies to implement net-zero practices. Canada remains a global leader in mining, processing, and exporting of mining products and technology. As the world moves forward into a more sustainable and prosperous net-zero future, critical minerals used for batteries, electric vehicles, and other green technology will be more important than ever.
This is why the Federal government revaluated and enhanced Canadian Critical Mineral Strategy in 2022 which focuses on supporting economic growth and competitiveness, advances reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, promotes climate action and strong environmental management, and more. This goes hand in hand with Budget 2023 investments such as the Clean Technology Manufacturing Tax Credit equal to 30 per cent of the cost of investments in new machinery and equipment used to extract, process, or recycle critical minerals essential for clean technology supply chains and a re-allocation of $1.5 billion within the Strategic Innovation Fund to support projects in sectors including clean technologies, critical minerals and industrial transformation.
Last month the Federal government announced the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF) which will provide up to $1.5 billion in federal funding over 7 years for clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects necessary to enable the sustainable development and expansion of critical minerals in Canada. CMIF funding addresses key infrastructure gaps in the upstream segment (exploration and mining) of critical minerals value chains.
- Preconstruction and project development
Funds preconstruction activities required to advance projects toward a shovel-ready state, including studies; planning; design work; assessments; infrastructure-specific consultation; knowledge sharing; and engagement with Indigenous communities and organizations, as well as other impacted communities. Projects requesting $10 or million or could be prioritized. For this first call for proposals, applications will be accepted until February 29, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PST. - Infrastructure deployment
Funds shovel-ready projects, including site preparation, construction, rehabilitation, or enhancement of infrastructure, as well as capacity-building activities and engagement in support of Indigenous and other impacted communities. Stream 2 will use a continuous intake process, meaning that applications will be assessed on a first-come, first-served basis.
