Canada and the United Kingdom Sign Critical Minerals Supply Chain Dialogue to Strengthen Collaboration  

March 6, 2023             Toronto, Ontario Natural Resources Canada

There is no global energy transition without accelerated activity along the critical minerals value chain. Critical minerals are not just the building blocks of clean technology like solar panels and electric vehicle batteries — they are also a key ingredient for creating middle-class jobs and growing a strong, globally competitive Canadian economy.

The move toward a global net-zero economy is generating a significant increase in demand for critical minerals and the clean technologies they enable around the world, creating a generational opportunity for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses. Concurrent geopolitical dynamics have caused like-minded countries to reflect on the need to have stable and secure supplies of these resources and technologies — produced in a way that is compatible with science-driven climate and nature goals.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, and Nusrat Ghani, United Kingdom Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, announced a Canada–United Kingdom (U.K.) collaboration through a Critical Minerals Supply Chain Dialogue.

As close allies, Canada and the U.K. have strong historical ties of collaboration and already actively pursue international partnership projects on critical minerals. Both countries have developed and released their own Critical Mineral Strategies that share similar values and goals.

The focus of the dialogue is to deepen Canada–U.K. engagement and cooperation on critical minerals, prioritize critical mineral security of supply and joint economic prosperity, and attain high environmental, social and governance standards (ESG) and innovation throughout the value chain. Both countries are committed to ensuring critical mineral markets are diverse, ethical, fair and transparent from beginning to end. The dialogue was launched at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2023 Convention, the world’s leading conference on mineral exploration.

Canada and the U.K. will work together to pursue the following shared objectives:  

• Leverage the strengths of the two countries to promote skill-sharing and research and development between U.K. and Canadian industry, academia and governments, along with other close international allies, to spur supply chain innovation. This cooperation will build new connections in upstream and midstream segments of critical mineral supply chains, extending to downstream reuse and recycling.

• Promote and create integrated, safe supply chains for critical minerals between Canada and the U.K., including through information sharing, facilitating investment, developing business ties between Canadian and U.K. firms, and sharing supply chain resilience analysis.

• Drive higher ESG performance across all elements of the critical minerals supply chain, through      government communication, active promotion within our respective sectors and close cooperation in international fora. 

Today’s announcement builds on previous collaboration. Last year at COP15 in Montreal, Canada and the United Kingdom joined the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance — along with Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the United States — to drive the global uptake of environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive and responsible mining, processing and recycling practices and responsible critical minerals supply chains.

By strengthening relationships with our international partners and supporting the development of secure and reliable low-carbon supply chains, we will continue to help create good jobs in communities across the country, strengthen our economy and build a cleaner, more prosperous, Canada for our kids and grandkids.