Critical and Strategic Mineral Production
Betting on tomorrow, today
There is a common thread across the price outlook stories for many so-called ‘critical and strategic minerals’ – the likes of copper, nickel, lithium and graphite, among several others. While the price may be low right now (so goes the typical forecast), a look to 2030 or 2040 tells an entirely different tale. As demand for these materials continues and accelerates in its growth, it appears virtually inevitable that supply will struggle to keep up, given the long timeline of mine development.
Notably, despite an otherwise brusque approach to trade with Canada (and much of the rest of the world), President Donald Trump appeared to exempt critical minerals from his tariff regime. It was an indication of both the importance of these substances in myriad industries, and of the US’ deep dependence on imports. China is an utterly dominant global force in the production and refining of many critical minerals; a stronghold that Québec and Atlantic Canada have emerged to help counterbalance.
Iron: Back to the future
In 2024, iron became simultaneously the ‘elder statesman’ and the ‘new kid on the block’ of Canada’s critical and strategic mineral scene. Iron has been extracted from Canadian lands for centuries, if not millennia. Archaeology has revealed evidence of Inuit and Viking ironworks, centuries before the arrival of post-Columbian settlers to the Americas. The Canadian Encyclopedia calls iron smelting and casting ‘Canada’s first industry’.
Yet, with high-purity iron’s addition to Canada’s critical mineral list in June 2024, its crucial role in modern industrial and economic development was acknowledged. In its release announcing the change, Canada’s government called high-purity iron “essential to green steel and integral to decarbonization”. Around 1.9 billion t of steel are produced globally each year. While unquestionably crucial to virtually all aspects of modern life, the industry is also a major contributor to climate change, producing around 7-9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That makes a transition to low-emission steel, for which high-purity iron is essential, doubly important.
It was an announcement greeted with delight by Québec and Atlantic Canada’s iron producers, during what was otherwise a difficult moment for the sector amid an extended downturn in iron ore prices. In 2023, Canada had the world’s 8th largest output of iron ore, producing 59 million t. Over 90% of that iron came from the Labrador Trough region, which straddles Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador; 57% of it from Québec, and 34% from Newfoundland and Labrador. Mapi Mobwano, CEO of ArcelorMittal Canada, the country’s largest iron ore producer, explained the significance of high-purity iron’s critical mineral classification: “High-purity iron is essential for several strategic industries in Canada, including advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defence. By ensuring a stable supply, Canada can strengthen its production capabilities in these key sectors, attract investments, and create highly skilled jobs,” he said.
ArcelorMittal’s Mont-Wright mine marked the 50th anniversary of its inaugural blast in October 2024, having produced billions of tonnes of iron ore during that period. It is one of the world’s largest open-pit operations, still with around 5 billion t of reserves and a mine plan stretching beyond 2050. Between its Mont-Wright and Fire Lake sites in Québec, the company produces around 26 million t/y of iron ore concentrate.
"Only 15% of the world's iron reserves meet high-purity criteria, and we are fortunate in Canada to have access to such reserves in the Labrador Trough." Mapi Mobwano, CEO, ArcelorMittal Mining Canada
Meanwhile, Champion Iron, via its subsidiary Québec Iron Ore’s Bloom Lake mine, produces iron at a nameplate capacity of 15 million t/y of 66.3% iron ore concentrate. In December 2025, Champion is anticipating the commissioning of a project to upgrade half of its production capacity to 69% iron content direct reduction pellet feed. Champion, fittingly, applauded the decision to add high-purity iron ore, which the Canadian government defines as that with 67% iron content or higher, to the critical minerals list.
Located near Wabush, Labrador Tacora Resources’ Scully mine is another of the region’s iron ore producers, with an annual capacity of around 6 million t. Strategic Resources, which is developing a high-purity iron metallurgical facility in Port Saguenay, Québec, is exploring possibilities to use ore from Scully to produce high-grade, low-emission iron pellets. The two companies’ agreement is just one example of how the industry is adapting and integrating decarbonization into their strategies. Lithium: Consolidating for the comeback
At its upper-end, Québec’s lithium space witnessed some of the standout mergers, acquisitions and investments in 2024 and early 2025, indicating sector optimism despite the metal’s weak price compared to its peak in 2021. Lithium continues to see high demand globally, thanks in large part to the continued demand for lithium-ion batteries as the world continues to adopt battery electric vehicles and energy storage. However, a surge in production capacity, coupled with an exploration and discovery boom that has revealed the relative abundance and accessibility of lithium, has driven prices downward. In an attempt to normalize the market and save costs while waiting for a price bump, several producers around the world have opted to cut or suspend their lithium production. Recent M&A activity has seen the sector consolidate strategically amid this period of market correction.
North American Lithium (NAL), the continent’s largest producing lithium mine, was at the center of one of the year’s big stories in Québec. Elevra Lithium, the company emerging from Sayona Mining’s proposed merger with Piedmont Lithium, has been described as a ‘lithium giant’, with a post-merger market capitalization of US$623 million. After some delay, completion of the merger was announced in late August 2025, hailed as a "transformative milestone" by Piedmont CEO Keith Phillips. Production at NAL grew 57% between H1 FY24 and H1 FY25, delivering just over 100,000 t of spodumene concentrate, in line with Sayona’s full-year guidance of 190,000-210,000 t.
Another significant lithium acquisition in Québec – indeed, part of one of the world’s biggest mining M&A deals in 2024 – was that of Arcadium Lithium, bought by Rio Tinto for US$6.7 billion. With the acquisition, Rio Tinto raised its lithium reserves to the world’s third largest. Arcadium, which was itself formed by the merger of Livent and Allkem in January 2024, operates a number of lithium sites in Argentina and Australia. Among its development portfolio is the Galaxy project. This spodumene prospect represents one of Canada’s largest-known lithium resources and is in a shovel-ready state at the final stages of its development.
Additionally, Arcadium owned a 50% interest in Nemaska Lithium, with the other half owned by Québec’s government. In Q4 2024, Investissement Québec announced a C$250 million in Nemaska, with an aim for its Whabouchi mine to be in operation by Q4 2026. While prices may have dipped in the short-term, Québec’s lithium production sector is positioned for long-term leadership in the global energy transition.
"Flake graphite supply is tightening, and demand remains high for industrial uses. The US Department of Defense plans to stockpile 48,000 tonnes by 2030, highlighting the material’s critical importance." Hughes Jacquemin, CEO, Northern Graphite
Graphite: Mind the gap
North America currently hosts just one mine producing graphite. If that sounds to the reader like a supply chain fragility, that is because it is: After 35 years of continuous production, Northern Graphite’s operation at Lac-des-Îles is nearing the depletion of its current open-pit resource. All on its own, the mine’s roughly 20,000 t/y production has placed Canada among the world’s top graphite producers. For the benefit of context, China is the world’s superpower with its production of over 1.2 million t/y; over 77% of global output in 2023. With US imports of natural graphite totaling between 35,000-90,000 t/y between 2020 and 2024, Northern’s production represents a substantial and strategically important source of localized supply for key sectors including battery manufacturing and defense.
Northern is seeking CA$10 million in funding for the expansion of its open pit, which would extend its mine life by eight years at an accelerated production rate of 25,000 t/y. However, despite its strategic importance, Northern CEO Hughes Jacquemin explained that the project risks falling through a gap in the otherwise typically robust Québecois funding environment: “We are actively seeking support, but it is complicated. As an operating mine, we do not fit well into existing funding programs focused on exploration, infrastructure or innovation, since we are not building new assets or developing new processes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the company is continuing to develop new partnerships and projects, including progress at its Okanjande site in Namibia.
Though by no means an immediate solution to the continent’s brittle local graphite supply chain, Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie mine certainly offers hope for the future. The mine’s 2025 feasibility study outlined an annual production of over 100,000 t of graphite concentrate at a purity of 97.5%, and a mine life of 25 years. NMG is sponsored by Investissement Québec, which co-invested CA$71 million in the project in December 2024, alongside the Canada Growth Fund. NMG anticipates commercial production within three years of a positive FID.
Although currently experiencing some market softness, the diverse range of critical and strategic minerals produced in Québec and Atlantic Canada, including nickel at Glencore’s Raglan and Vale’s Voisey’s Bay mines, titanium at Rio Tinto’s Lac Tio, and several near-term production prospects in copper, zinc and other materials, position the provinces well to service projected demand growth in the coming years.
Article header image by BROPRADANA at Adobe Stock