Canada risks leaving more value from its critical minerals abroad unless it builds more processing capacity at home, the government’s trade boosting agency says…A sustained shift into more sophisticated exports could add as much as C$98 billion ($70 billion) a year to the country’s economy by 2035, Export Development Canada (EDC) said on Thursday…“By exporting raw commodities rather than more complex, processed products, companies leave significant profits on the table,” Alison Nankivell, president and CEO of the Crown corporation, said in a new report. “The ability to sell more complex products generates gains that compound over time.”…For miners, the report reframes the push to expand critical-minerals output: extracting more won’t deliver the largest economic payoff unless Canada keeps more processing, technology and manufacturing at home…The report comes two days after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto put mining and critical minerals at the centre of Ottawa’s push to draw more capital into Canadian industry…EDC described the broader problem facing resource-rich economies such as Canada and Australia as a “commodity trap.” Strong demand for raw materials can reinforce extraction while processing, technology and manufacturing develop elsewhere.

European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño is heading to Ottawa on Sunday to lay the groundwork for Europe-Canada cooperation on critical raw materials, an official from her office said…Calviño will be meeting with government officials including Canada’s minister for energy and natural resources, Tim Hodgson, in Ottawa…The aim of her visit is for the European Investment Bank, the long-term lending arm of the European Union, to establish a presence in Canada and begin operations “as soon as the administrative paperwork is done, with a focus on [critical raw materials],” the official said. They were granted anonymity to speak about the internal strategy…Coming after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed admitting Canada as an associate member of the EU, Calviño’s trip is significant given that the EIB typically only operates in developing countries or members of the European Union or European Economic Area…Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney named boosting critical raw materials as one of the areas in which he wants to boost collaboration between Ottawa and Brussels in a speech to the European Parliament on Thursday.

LONDON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) (OTCQB: FTMDF) (“Fortune” or “the Company”) (www.fortuneminerals.com) is pleased to announce that the Class A Water License renewal for the NICO mine and concentrator was approved by the Honourable Jay McDonald, Minister of Environment and Climate Change for the Northwest Territories (“NWT”). The draft terms recommended by the Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Board (“WLWB”) were accepted by the Minister and signed on September 14^th, 2026. In addition, the WLWB issued the Type A Land Use Permit. These are the primary permits following receipt of an environmental assessment in the NWT and set the terms and conditions for construction and operation of the NWT facilities. They also set the amount of security that will be required for the Company’s Closure and Reclamation Plan. The NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bismuth-Copper Project (“NICO Project”) is an advanced development stage critical minerals asset consisting of a planned open pit and underground mine and concentrator in the NWT and a dedicated hydrometallurgical facility in Alberta (“Alberta Refinery”) where concentrates from the mine, and other feed sources, will be processed to value-added products. The NICO Project will provide a reliable, North American supply of battery grade cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots (12% of global reserves), and copper cement - with more than one million ounces of in-situ gold as a highly liquid and countercyclical co-product…Fortune is also pleased to report that it will host a visit to the NICO mine site for a group of Tłıchǫ citizens and elders to kick-off a Traditional Knowledge Study on the NPAR on September 21, 2026…As Fortune advances the NICO Project toward a Final Investment Decision (“FID”) targeting 2027, the Company was pleased to be sponsored by both the NWT and Alberta governments to participate in the inaugural Canada Investment Summit held in Toronto, Ontario on September 14 and 15^th. Hosted by Prime Minister Carney in partnership with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Public Sector Pension Investment Board - two of Canada’s largest institutional investors, the Summit served as a premier platform to showcase Canada as a compelling investment destination and trusted convener of global capital. The Summit brought together leading investors from around the world, Canadian CEOs, and public sector representatives for an event focused on accelerating new investment into Canada.