U.S. Uses Canada to Secure Reliable Access to Critical Minerals

CBC on November 13 published an item by Alexander Panetta which reported:

"Canada has, for decades, belonged to the U.S. military industrial base and is every bit as entitled to the cash as American mining projects."

The article quotes Matthew Zolnowski, a portfolio manager for the Defense Production Act program, speaking to a gathering of the Canada-United States Law Institute in Washington, DC on November 10.

"It's really quite simple. It's a matter of law," said Zolnowski, "So an investment in Alberta or Quebec or Nova Scotia would be no different than if it was in Nebraska or anywhere else in the United States. As a matter of law."

According to Panetta, Zolnowski put the issue as one of preparing for war, and said that in times of war industrialized nations that lack secure and reliable access to these materials have suffered mightily: "[They] have suffered significant performance tradeoffs, which contributed to their defeat," he said.

Canadian officials say they've already provided the U.S. with a list of 70 projects that could warrant U.S. funding, writes Panetta. The key minerals are said to include lithium, cobalt and manganese.

Jeff Labonté, Assistant Deputy Minister at Natural Resources Canada, told the conference that there are 200 mines and 10,000 potential producers in the exploration phase. "We have a skill set in this area. We have capital markets, we have engineering expertise, we have companies that operate around the country and around the world," he said.

The CBC reports that Canada is also "providing billions of dollars in public funds to the sector over the coming years through federal and provincial programs."

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This article was published in

Volume 52 Number 53 - December 3, 2022

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520532.HTM

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