Teck Mining Company’s zinc and lead smelting and refining complex is pictured in Trail, B.C., on Nov. 26, 2012. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
The federal government will invest up to $400 million into Teck Resources Ltd.’s critical minerals processing operations in southern B.C. as Ottawa looks to shore up supplies of metals used in the defence and green energy sectors.
“We are facing a trade war we did not ask for; the most volatile geopolitics since the end of World War II, which has led to the biggest energy crisis in modern history; technological change at a pace not seen in decades, mainly due to AI; and an accelerating clean energy transition,” Tim Hodgson, the federal natural resources minister, said in Trail, B.C., on Tuesday.
“Anyone who tells you facing these challenges as a government, and as a nation, is not daunting is not telling the truth.”
But Hodgson said the crisis is creating an opportunity for Canada, and some of the country’s “best cards” are in its critical minerals.
“In 2026, these minerals are no longer just commodities. They are strategic assets—essential to the world’s manufacturing of defence technologies, semiconductors, telecommunications, clean energy, electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, as well as the next generation of advanced manufacturing.”
The announcement Monday is the first under the Canada Critical Mineral Accelerator, a Natural Resources Canada program set up last year to speed up development of minerals it says are needed for economic sovereignty, national security and the energy transition. Export Development Canada manages the accelerator.
The agreement could see the Canada Growth Fund, a federal arm’s-length cleantech investment vehicle, make an “equity-like investment” of up to $400 million directly into Teck’s facility in Trail, Natural Resources Canada said in a release.
The smelting and refining complex currently produces 19 products and employs more than 1,400 people. Teck is planning an up to $850-million expansion to its Trail operations that could double production of germanium and antimony and add new capacity for gallium.
Germanium is used in fibre optic, infrared and semicondicutor technology, while antimony is crucial for flame retardants, batteries and alloys. Gallium is key for semiconductors used in telecommunications, radar and electronics.
The agreement could also see Ottawa obtain rights to a portion of future production of those minerals.
Jonathan Price, Teck’s chief executive, said the agreement will help the company quickly and significantly increase production of key strategic metals.
“By leveraging Trail’s existing infrastructure and expertise, this initiative has the potential to deliver new supply of strategic metals while providing strong returns for Teck shareholders,” he said.
Teck and London-based Anglo American PLC announced a deal last year to join forces and create a $70-billion copper-focused mining powerhouse. The combined company is to be called Anglo Teck and keep a headquarters in Vancouver.
When the deal was announced last September, Anglo American said it expected the transaction to close within 12 to 18 months.
