Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the G7 is set to announce a Canada-led critical minerals pact involving purchase agreements, price floors and stockpiling in a co-ordinated bid to fight market manipulation from China…The pact will build on the nascent G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance, which was championed by Prime Minister Mark Carney at the June G7 meeting in Alberta. The alliance was tasked with enhancing critical supply chains for the defence and technology sectors…In an interview in Toronto on Wednesday, Mr. Hodgson said the new G7 pact will benefit specific mining companies and critical minerals processing facilities across the G7…“There will be a group of particular mineral projects and particular mineral processing facilities that are being enabled by a collective effort of all of these countries to go from idea to reality,” he said…Mr. Hodgson declined to provide details on specific projects or companies that will benefit from the agreement, but he indicated that rare earths, a subset of critical minerals, will be one focus…Security of the global rare earths supply is front and centre, with China currently restricting exports to the U.S. of certain rare earths in retaliation for earlier tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Beijing…“These export controls are designed to have geopolitical impact. They are designed to cause challenges in supply chains,” Mr. Hodgson said. “You should expect the G7 to focus on any critical mineral where we believe there is general non-market activity, non-free trade type activity to restrict and constrain a normal supply chain.”…Up until now, public-sector funding for the Canadian mining industry has come mostly in the form of grants, low interest loans and, on rare occasions, equity financings. The G7 agreement will significantly open the spigot to incorporate offtake agreements, which is buying a share of the production of a mine; price floors, which are guaranteeing the company receives a minimum price for the mineral; and stockpiling, which involves purchasing and storing the commodities…Canada is a global leader in some critical minerals such as uranium, potash and nickel, but is a bit player in others used in low carbon energy, such as lithium, graphite and cobalt…“For some commodities where China has a monopoly or near-monopoly, the market doesn’t work,” said Mr. Gratton. “We have projects in this country that cannot be built unless there’s some kind of state participation.”

China has agreed to delay the introduction of its latest round of rare earth export controls as part of a deal agreed between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, but earlier restrictions on the critical minerals that have upended global trade remain…Rare earths, 17 elements which play tiny but vital roles in cars, planes and weapons, have emerged from obscurity to become China's most potent source of negotiating leverage thanks to export restrictions introduced this year which allow Beijing to cut off foreign customers dependent on Chinese supply…However, the pause appears to leave in place restrictions introduced in April which control exports of seven rare earths and, notably, the rare earth magnets crucial to automakers, defence companies and chipmakers…It was the April controls which, within weeks, caused shortages across the auto supply chain, forcing automakers to pause production at some plants.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has expanded its cobalt coverage with the launch of a daily cobalt metal price, providing the market with a transparent and transaction based reference during a period of exceptional volatility…The new daily assessment complements Benchmark’s existing daily cobalt hydroxide price, giving industry participants visibility across both the physical metal and feedstock markets every trading day…The move comes as cobalt markets experience their most turbulent period in years. Rapid price swings, compounded by the introduction of DRC export quotas, uneven inventory distribution in China, and heightened speculative activity, have created significant uncertainty around fair value and pricing mechanisms…“The traditional linkage between cobalt hydroxide and metal prices has weakened significantly since 2022, with each responding largely to their own distinct supply demand fundamentals. As the DRC quota continues to shape hydroxide availability and metal demand tightens, accurate and reliable daily price reporting is essential for managing arbitrage positions and for reassessing procurement strategies.”

Ground has officially been broken on Volkswagen’s PowerCo electric vehicle battery gigafactory in St. Thomas…The milestone kicked off development of three major buildings at the site, making it the largest facility of its kind in the country, with full production expected to begin in 2027…First announced in March of 2023, the facility is set to create up to 3,000 direct jobs while protecting Ontario’s auto manufacturing supply chain amidst the trade war…“It’s the world’s largest automaker. They don’t do a plan for just this year when Donald Trump’s got tariffs, they’re doing a plan looking forward,” said Preston…Once complete, the site will produce PowerCo’s unified cell battery technology, with the goal of solidifying Canada’s role as a global manufacturing hub…“Electric vehicles are the future of the global automotive sector, and we’re proud to spearhead such a significant investment, while positioning Canada at the forefront of innovative EV battery production,” said Frank Blome, CEO of PowerCo SE.

Critical infrastructure projects in Canada’s North that have been waiting on federal funding for decades are finally gaining traction as the rest of Canada wakes up to its northern border, Northwest Territories Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek says…The projects include a highway connecting the rest of Canada to its most northern edge, an all-season road in a mineral-rich region and an expanded electricity grid unifying several communities…The first is a more than 400-kilometre-long all-season route to permanently connect southern Canada to the Arctic Ocean and replace the current ice roads system. It will require around $3.5-billion in federal investment to build…The second, a $3.4-billion energy initiative, involves building 320 kilometres of transmission lines to connect industry and 11 communities, or more than 70 per cent of the NWT population, through a unified grid…The Arctic Economic and Security Corridor is a project that involves developing a mineral-rich region known as the Slave Geological Province and building related infrastructure such as an all-season road…Yet, it’s important to the NWT economy that these projects do make it across the line. All three of the territories’ diamond mines are either slated to close in the coming years or face an uncertain future, putting more than 1,000 jobs in limbo as the region’s biggest industry winds down…By expediting the NWT’s key projects, Ms. Wawzonek said, the federal and provincial governments can open the region up to bigger investments in defence and critical minerals.