Canada recently added an additional three minerals—high-purity iron, phosphorous and silicon metal—to its Critical Minerals List, bringing the total to 34.

Canada released its first Critical Minerals List in March 2021 with a commitment to review the minerals identified as critical every three years. The list guides federal policy and programs and signals government areas of priority to stakeholders. Public consultations took place with provincial and territorial governments, other government departments, industry, Indigenous groups and other interested or affected stakeholders.

An analysis was undertaken to review all minerals included in the 2021 Critical Minerals List and consider potential candidates for addition. These analyses resulted in the updated Critical Minerals List that retains all 31 minerals from the 2021 list and the additional three.

• Silicon metal is essential to the manufacture of chips and semiconductors, used in almost any and everything electronic.

• High-purity iron ore is essential to green steel and integral to decarbonization.

• Phosphorus combined with potash is essential for food security through the production of fertilizers. Phosphorus can also be used in Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries, another strategic opportunity in the EV value chain for Canada.

There is no global definition of critical minerals so, as part of the List’s review, an updated set of criteria has been created. To be deemed a “critical mineral” in Canada, a mineral must meet both of the following criteria:

• the supply chain is threatened; and

• there is a reasonable chance of the mineral being produced by Canada

as well as one of the following criteria:

• essential to Canada’s economic or national security; or

• required for the national transition to a sustainable low-carbon and digital economy; or

• positions Canada as a sustainable and strategic partner within global supply chains.

Analysts at Benchmark noted that the expansion of the list with the three new minerals could support Canadaa’s bid to become a major ex-China battery materials supplier.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cathodes contain both battery-suitable purified phosphoric acid (PPA), made using mined phosphorus feedstock, and high-purity iron.

Silicon metal is also a feedstock for silicon-graphite battery anodes.

Projects in these minerals will now be eligible for various forms of government support, including a seven-year C$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) federal fund for new critical minerals infrastructure launched in November 2023.