Backgrounder: Minister Hodgson accelerates Canada’s mining sector

Today, on the margins of the 2026 Energy and Mining Ministers Conference (EMMC) in Yellowknife, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced investments of up to $73 million for 12 projects from across Canada that will advance sustainable mining, strengthen Indigenous partnerships and leadership and build the infrastructure needed to connect Canadian critical minerals to global markets and diversify global trade.

First and Last Mile Fund

The First and Last Mile Fund (FLMF) supports the development of critical minerals mines and upstream and midstream supply chains with a focus on getting near-term projects into production, enabling Canada to process and transport minerals to domestic and international markets.

Recognizing that most critical minerals deposits and enabling infrastructure projects in Canada are located on Indigenous territories, the FLMF provides specific funding to support Indigenous engagement and participation in critical minerals projects.

Development project funding

Project name: NICO Project Access Road
Recipient: Tłı̨chǫ Government and Fortune Minerals Limited Joint Venture
Location: Whati, Northwest Territories
Funding amount: Up to $50,000,000
Description: This project will construct a 51-kilometre access road across Tłı̨chǫ private lands to connect Fortune Minerals’ NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper Mine to the territorial highway system near Whati.

Project name: Cando Arctic Nexus (CAN)
Recipient: Cando Rail & Terminals (Cando)
Location: Enterprise, Northwest Territories
Funding amount: Up to $733,187
Description: The Cando Arctic Nexus (CAN) project will advance preconstruction, site investigation and stakeholder outreach activities to develop a multimodal logistics hub at Cando’s Enterprise Terminal.

Indigenous capacity funding

Project name: Traditional Knowledge Study and Community Engagement for the NICO Mine
Access Road
Recipient: Tłı̨chǫ Government
Location: Whatì, Northwest Territories
Funding amount: $200,000
Description: This project will support community engagement and the completion of a Tłı̨chǫ Traditional Knowledge study for the NICO Project Access Road.

Project name: Meaningful Engagement and Participation in Access Road Planning and
Infrastructure Development with the Fortune Minerals NICO Project
Recipient: North Slave Métis Alliance
Location: Yellowknife; Whatì, Northwest Territories
Funding amount: $140,588
Description: This project will support NSMA’s meaningful participation and engagement in the assessment and construction of the NICO access road.

Project name: Bathurst Caribou Habitat Conservation Initiative
Recipient: Wekʼèezhìi Renewable Resources Board
Location: Various communities, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Funding amount: $200,000
Description: This project will undertake community-based engagement, knowledge gathering
and documentation, verification and consensus building regarding the impact of the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor on Bathurst Caribou.

Project name: DKFN Guardians Monitoring Program: Lockhart–Lac de Gras, Slave Geological
Province Corridor
Recipient: Deninu Kųę́ First Nation
Location: Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories
Funding amount: $188,482
Description: This project will build DKFN’s capacity to monitor caribou along the Tibbitt Lake–Lac de Gras winter road and document Traditional Knowledge to help the community better understand how proposed road and critical mineral development could affect the land, wildlife, and DKFN traditional land use and cultural practices, and to inform future planning and decision- making.
 
Energy Innovation Program – Mining Decarbonization Demonstration Call for Proposals

Supports the development and demonstration of technologies that reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency in Canada’s mining sector.

Project name: Decarbonization of Canadian Copper Mines Through Net-Zero Copper Processing Technology That Eliminates Concentration and Smelting Processes and Generates Green Hydrogen (H₂)
Proponent: pH7 Technologies Inc.
Location: McLeese Lake, British Columbia 

Funding amount: $5,000,000
Description: This project will demonstrate a closed-loop, net-zero copper extraction technology at the Gibraltar Mine in British Columbia, producing 99.9 percent-pure copper cathodes from low-grade ore on-site while generating green hydrogen and reducing emissions, water use and transportation requirements.

Project name: Proving Profitability in Battery-Electric Fleets Underground
Recipient: ReThink Mining
Location: Multiple sites across Canada
Funding amount: $5,000,000
Description: This project will demonstrate battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) at multiple underground mine sites across Canada. It will assess vehicle performance in real-world conditions, identify barriers to broader adoption and establish best practices for deployment across the mining sector.

Project name: Decarbonization of Operations Through Deployment of Battery Electric Vehicles at Lalor Mine
Recipient: Hudbay Minerals Inc.
Location: Lalor Mine, Snow Lake, Manitoba
Funding amount: $5,000,000
Description: This project is designed to replace traditional diesel mining equipment with electric vehicles and establish the required charging infrastructure. Utilizing Manitoba’s clean electricity grid, the initiative will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance operational efficiency while simultaneously improving workplace safety by reducing noise, heat, dust and environmental risks.

Project name: Electric Haul Truck Demonstration 
Recipient: IAMGOLD Corporation 
Location: Westwood Mine, Preissac, Quebec 
Funding amount: $2,400,000 
Description: This project will replace large diesel haul trucks with electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure, improving air quality and demonstrating how electrification can be scaled across mining operations.

Project name: Mine Ventilation Energy Recovery 
Recipient: IAMGOLD Corporation 
Location: Westwood Mine, Preissac, Quebec 
Funding amount: $2,168,970 
Description: This project will implement energy recovery technologies to reduce heating requirements in underground ventilation systems, significantly lowering natural gas use.

Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships

The Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships (INRP) program aims to increase the economic participation of Indigenous communities and organizations in the development of sustainable natural resource projects.

Project name: Advancing Tahltan Impact Assessment Policy and Practice: Evaluation, Enhancement and Implementation
Recipient: Tahltan Central Government
Location: Tatl’ah (Dease Lake), British Columbia 
Funding amount: $1,960,474 
Description: This project will strengthen the Tahltan Central Government’s (TCG) governance capacity to co-regulate and provide consent to major projects under Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy. The TCG will update its policies, tools and processes, which will enable Tahltan to lead transparent, efficient decision-making and secure economic benefits for Tahltan communities from future mining and infrastructure developments.