Achi news desk-
Critical mineral mining is essential to Canada’s electric vehicle growth, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford said on the occasion of a “historic” and “generational” $15 billion investment by Honda Motor Co. in southern Ontario.
In formulating a strategy to establish an “end-to-end” battery chain ecosystem, Trudeau said on April 25 that Canada has an abundant supply of critical minerals that the rest of the world wants, available skilled talent and advanced manufacturing capability. to build the innovative economy of the future.
And compared to socially and environmentally dubious mining players like China, “our approach is much more responsible.”
Increasing production of critical minerals in Canada means using green areas like the Ring of Fire in the James Bay area.
In the government’s decades-long stalled process to do so, Premier Doug Ford expressed confidence that the upcoming agreement with Aroland First Nation will help take the crucial next step in building a north-south access road to the Far North Mineral Belt.
Honda is spending $15 billion on four manufacturing plants in Ontario, including building an electric vehicle battery plant next to the existing assembly plant in Elliston, Ont., which is being retooled to make electric vehicles.
Once operational in 2028, the new assembly plant will produce up to 240,000 vehicles per year. 1,000 new direct jobs are expected to be created and an estimated 28,000 to 30,000 economic spin-off jobs in the coming decades.
Queens Park and Ottawa are providing the Japanese automaker with a hefty incentive package worth a combined $5 billion in federal cleantech manufacturing tax credits and provincial aid that covers service costs at the site.
This is the third electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Ontario that the province and the federal government are assisting following significant investment in the Stellantis LG plant in Windsor and the Volkwagen plant in St. Thomas.
While Queens Park and Ottawa are spending billions in southern Ontario, relatively little has been announced in upstream investment in northern Ontario to support the mid-level mines and processing facilities that will feed this ecosystem.
Four lithium companies with mining deposits in northwestern Ontario are seeking help from the government to build lithium conversion plants in Thunder Bay, Red Rock and elsewhere in northern Ontario.
The deployment of government funding was slow.
The recent federal budget committed to the Burns River Bridge and road network to provide year-round access to Frontier Lithium’s PAK deposit in northwestern Ontario and surrounding communities.
In Temiskaming, Toronto’s Electra Battery Materials needs $60 million to finish construction of its nickel, cobalt and battery recycling plant, a project that has been frozen for a year. The company is considering building a second refinery in Becancour, Que.
Honda did say that the Ontario vertically integrated supply chain will include some processing capability with a new precursor material processing facility created through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M Co., Ltd., a South Korean battery materials company, along with a separation facility through a joint venture partnership with Asahi Kasei Corp., a Japanese chemical company.
Whether there are communities in Northern Ontario competing for these plants remains to be seen. Honda said that more details will be released over the next six months.
Advancing the mine assembly plant supply chain for EVs was clearly on the minds of Trudeau and Ford, even if the road to government cooperation in the Ring of Fire remains murky to get there.
The two leaders raised a media question that the two governments might cut regulatory corners to speed up mine production in Canada.
Trudeau responded that Canada is widely regarded as a responsible and reliable supply chain partner when it comes to maintaining labor standards, working with Indigenous people and doing what is right on the environmental front to offer a clean product to the world.
“We will continue to invest in Canada’s mining sector. We have exceptional mining expertise, but we will do so responsibly in partnership with Indigenous people, unions and protecting the environment.”
Ford balked at the question of whether First Nation communities in the Ring of Fire were opposed to the development because they had not been properly consulted.
The Prime Minister shared this, calling Marten Falls and Webequie, the two First Nation communities closest to the Ring of Fire, excellent partners leading the environmental assessment processes on their sections of road.
“They have been an amazing, amazing partner and we look forward to getting shovels in the ground.”
Ford recently announced an access road deal with Aroland First Nation that could clear the way for the road.
Ford noted that he had “great conversations” with Arrowland leadership and that the county is close to signing an agreement that would give the community control over the first 80 miles of the road. Aroland is located near the southern end of the road where it will connect to the expressway system at Nakina.
A road trip to the Ring of Fire, Ford said, would create jobs and opportunities in the area, provide better access to health care, reduce the cost of food and supplies, and expand broadband and hydropower to communities.
“It’s going to change their lives.”
The development of the mines in the Ring of Fire has largely stalled since the discovery of nickel and chromite in 2007-’08.
The latest hurdle to development was the imposition of a federal regional assessment by Ottawa in 2020. The incipient socio-economic process was pushed back in the past year to include more Indigenous oversight.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government launched a legal challenge against the legitimacy of the entire federal impact assessment law.
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