Research council hopes to expand province’s mining clients with new facility

The global supply chain continues to see delays due to factors like the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

That led the Government of Saskatchewan to invest in a brand new Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) mining and minerals facility in Saskatoon. The new facility consolidates SRC’s mining and minerals operations under one roof.

It’s part of the provincial government’s $7.5-billion, two-year capital plan to stimulate the economy, with $15 million put into the project.

The minister responsible for the SRC, Jeremy Harrison, said the new facility is putting the province on a global stage and gaining a lot of interest.

“One thing we have really noticed as a province since the horrific Russian invasion of Ukraine is a very high degree of interest around the world in securing commodity supplies from reliable, long-term and stable partners,” Harrison said.

The government typically hosts fewer than 10 international delegations each year, but so far this year it’s supporting close to 20, Harrison said.

According to Harrison, these groups are looking at a wide range of sectors including agriculture, mining and minerals, and energy.

SRC CEO Mike Crabtree said a lot of the products the council works with are in high demand.

“Everything from diamonds through potash, gold-based metals, uranium, all of these are … in much greater demand than they were even a few months ago,” Crabtree said.

Crabtree said the new facility will make the SRC more efficient, and allow it to relay data and information to clients in order to help them make timely investment decisions.

He said he believes the facility will help take Saskatchewan to the next level on the world stage in the mining and mineral sector.

“We’re going to see an increase in critical minerals, so production of lithium, production of rare-Earths. All of these things are critical to what the 21st century economy is,” Crabtree said.

But that’s not where things end, as Crabtree said he believes the upgrade can have a bigger impact than just research.

“These critical minerals are as important to the economy as oil and gas was in the 19th and 20th centuries. Saskatchewan is going to be very, very well-placed to be able to supply a significant proportion of world demand,” he added.

The new facility will employ around 90 people, and the research council brings in $137 million in annual revenue.

The SRC is the second-largest research and technology organization in the country, providing services and products to its 1,500 clients in 27 countries around the world.