Ottawa invests $6M in Saskatoon rare earth processing facility

The federal government is making a big investment in a Saskatoon facility that processes rare earth elements.

On Thursday, Dan Vandal, minister responsible for PrairiesCan, announced a $6-million funding boost for the Saskatchewan Research Council’s Rare Earth Processing Facility, which is the first of its kind in the nation.

Rare earth elements are used in many high-tech applications, including batteries for electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics, and have industrial applications as well.

The federal government said the funding will help the research council “establish and commercialize” a process to separate rare earth oxides from radioactive monazite tailings. That means material that would otherwise be disposed of could produce enough rare earth elements to create batteries for up to 65,000 electric vehicle batteries each year.

One of the first ingots of rare-earth metals produced in Saskatchewan, at the Saskatchewan Research Council’s processing facility in Saskatoon. (650 CKOM file photo)

The funding will also help the research council develop an automated smelting process to produce rare earth metals that are of commercial quality.

Mike Crabtree, CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council, said the new funding will help produce more rare earths “and at the same time doing it quicker, safer and with less demand on manual labour.”

Vandal said investments in critical minerals like rare earths will help create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly economy.

“This is an important investment, not just for Saskatchewan and not just for Saskatoon, but for the entire country,” he said, adding that Industry Minister Francois Phillip Champagne also recently toured the facility.

“We feel that this is the sort of partnership that we strive for and will continue working collaboratively with the province and municipality,” he added.

Jeremy Harrison, the provincial minster responsible for the Saskatchewan Research Council, agreed. He said this was one area the Saskatchewan Party and the federal Liberals could work well together.

“I just want to really, sincerely thank the government of Canada who’ve been a genuine partner in this project,” he said. “Obviously we don’t agree on everything, but this is an area where there is genuine opportunity for collaboration.”

According to the federal government, Canada has some of the largest reserves of rare earths anywhere in the world, and many of the critical minerals are found in Saskatchewan.

“With this investment from PrairiesCan, along with the initial $71-million investment from the Government of Saskatchewan, SRC continues to break new ground in the rare earth space, helping establish a rare earth hub in Saskatchewan,” Harrison added in a statement.

“Saskatchewan’s leadership in this sector will help establish a domestic rare earth supply chain that adds value to our economy and creates good jobs for Canadians.”

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said he’s excited about the work happening at the research council’s facility.

“This work is crucial to help meet global demand for the magnets and rare earth minerals that will be needed to power the future,” Clark said in a statement.

“Having this processing facility in Saskatoon creates a tremendous opportunity to develop an economic cluster here as we continue to diversify our economy and create good jobs for the future.”

Another rare earth processing operation in Saskatoon recently shut down due to rising costs. In a previous interview, Harrison noted that the research council uses different processes and models, and said he still has confidence in the Saskatoon facility.

–with files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff