Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced federal funding for a planned mine in Greenland being developed by a Toronto-based company.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The federal government will provide financial backing to a Canadian company’s planned mining project in Greenland – a rare instance of Ottawa investing in critical minerals extraction outside this country’s borders.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced on Monday that his department will make a $7-million non-repayable contribution to the Malmbjerg Project being developed by Toronto-based Greenland Resources MOLY-T. The mine is to produce molybdenum, a critical mineral used in defence and aerospace, as well as tungsten.
The pledge was part of a spate of new expenditures and partnerships announced by Mr. Hodgson at the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) mining conference in Toronto, under a G7 critical minerals alliance initiated by Canada last year.
Other new commitments by Ottawa include up to $9.1-million for the Ontario rare-earths recycler Cyclic Materials Inc., $2.3-million for Frontier Lithium’s processing facility also in Ontario, $16.7-million for First Phosphate Corp.’s demonstration and feasibility project in Quebec, and $15-million for U.S. company Regeneration’s metal extraction and site restoration project in British Columbia.
Mr. Hodgson also touted approximately $65-million in federal backing for research and development projects, mostly in Canada, with international partners.
But the Greenland pledge, made as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to annex the resource-rich semi-autonomous Arctic island, may attract the most notice in light of the geopolitical context.
The Malmbjerg Project, which last year received a 30-year permit from Greenland’s government, appears to represent a convergence of Canadian interests around the Arctic sovereignty, defence supply-chain collaboration with Europe, and the strengthening of domestic mining players.
Greenland Resources, a junior exploration company, already has memorandums of understanding with companies in multiple European countries to supply molybdenum, a metal which is used to harden steel and iron, including for defence applications.
On Monday, it particularly touted a binding $2-billion, 10-year offtake agreement with Outokumpu, a Finnish stainless-steel giant.
It also already has a debt facility from Export Development Canada.
The company has previously said that, once operational, the open-pit mine could produce 32.8 million pounds of molybdenum annually. That would purportedly enable it to supply approximately 25 per cent of Europe’s need for the metal, which among other effects would diminish its reliance on China, currently responsible for approximately 40 per cent of global molybdenum production.
Beyond the one project, Mr. Hodgson is attempting to signal a broader interest from Canada in a closer economic relationship with Greenland. He and his Greenland counterpart, Naaja Nathanielsen, also announced on Monday that they’re signing a joint declaration of intent to collaborate on mining and energy.