Ontario: A place for mining to grow

According to the annual BloombergNEF’s Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Ranking, Canada has overtaken China for the top spot in the ranking, which rates 30 countries on their potential to build a secure, reliable, and sustainable lithium-ion battery supply chain. Also, in another good news this week, energy minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that Canada plans to boost its energy security by slashing the time it takes to develop new critical mineral mines by nearly a decade with improved permitting processes.

Canada’s position in the ranking is improving due to policy commitment at both the provincial and federal level. Obviously, lithium-ion batteries need lithium mining. The article on pages 19-24 offers updates on current lithium mining projects in Ontario and explains how there is a generational opportunity for Ontario to become a lithium exploration powerhouse. With an ongoing land acquisition fever by several junior mining companies, Ontario could soon emerge as a big player in lithium production, which could help reduce the global lithium market’s volatility.

Articles on pages 16-31 provide updates on mining in Ontario, which is the main topic in this issue. Additionally, our History of Mining article on page 51 discusses the story of Cobalt, Ont. Flip to pages 35-44 for articles that explore the latest topics and case studies on recruitment, training, and careers as well as health and safety in mining.

If you are planning to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2024 convention in Toronto, Mar. 3-6, please visit our booth to pick up a hardcopy of this issue; we will be in booth # 808.

Finally, our April issue will tie-in BEVs, mine electrification, and the hunt for the resources to fuel de-carbonization. Editorial contributions will be accepted until Mar. 8, 2024, and should be sent to the Editor in Chief. 

---