Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has announced new funding of more than C$16-million to support the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) in Saskatoon.

The funding builds on the earlier support of nearly C$13.5-million from PrairiesCan and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for SRC to establish its rare earth processing facility and develop new rare earth mineral processing technologies.       

The latest announcement includes C$15.96-million through PrairiesCan to enable SRC to acquire bastnaesite from Canadian sources and create new domestic capacity for bastnaesite processing, which will be integrated into SRC's rare earth processing facility.

SRC will process bastnaesite ore acquired from Vital Metals' Canadian operations to produce a mixed rare earth product, which will be further processed using SRC's solvent extraction and metal smelting technology to produce rare earth metals. SRC will also collaborate with a local educational institution to develop and deliver a training program for Indigenous students to operate bastnaesite processing equipment.

The investment of C$209 330 from NRCan, under the Critical Minerals Geoscience Data Initiative will help SRC create a publicly available database of mineral characteristics, which will expand the understanding of critical mineral deposits in Canada and reduce mining waste. The new data will help make better predictions about the types of deposits that can be identified by sensor-based sorting, reducing the costs of developing critical mineral deposits into mines and the energy consumption and waste associated with these mines. 

"Our government is investing in the economic opportunities presented by our critical minerals wealth, ensuring that Canadians will benefit from the mining, processing and sale of rare earth elements and other critical minerals through the creation of good jobs, expansion of the mining sector, and prospects for future innovations and reduced emissions," said Wilkinson.

Federal Minister Responsible for PrairiesCan, Dan Vandal, added that the SRC processing facility played an important role in the government's plan to establish a domestic rare earth supply chain that could grow the Canadian economy.