The Province of Ontario announced that it’s is ramping up its support for the junior mining industry with an additional $6 million in funding on Friday, bringing its total investment in its junior exploration program to $35 million since 2021.
Premier Doug Ford aims to meet the rising demand for critical minerals such as nickel and lithium that are essential for the production of electric vehicles (EVs). The Ontario junior exploration program helps junior mining companies finance early exploration projects by covering up to $200,000 in eligible costs for critical and precious mineral exploration and development.
“Ontario is helping to build a strong critical minerals sector in the province. Through investments and support, the government is unlocking Northern Ontario’s economic potential in critical minerals and connecting these resources to the world-class manufacturing capabilities in Southern Ontario. Ontario has tremendous opportunities for critical minerals to support future economic prosperity,” said Premier Ford in his 2023 budget.
We're taking bold steps in #ONBudget2023 to attract new investments that will make Ontario the global hub for #ElectricVehicle and #EV #battery manufacturing— bringing thousands of good-paying jobs to communities right across this province.https://t.co/vFsAUXXkAo pic.twitter.com/J4AeWfqtpW
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 24, 2023
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Ontario invests to meet surging EV demand
The government is investing an additional $3 million in 2023 and 2024 and $3 million in 2025 into this program. This helps more companies search for potential mineral deposits and attract further investment in the sector.
Junior miners are small-scale operations that focus on exploring mining deposits rather than producing minerals. They are more likely to sell their deposits to bigger miners and are considered critical in the EV supply chain.
The demand for EVs has surged globally as nations strive to meet their climate goals.
Canada intends on building a low-carbon EV industry and has announced measures in recent years to achieve this goal. This is part of Ontario’s five year strategy to help secure the province’s position as a reliable global supplier and producer of responsibly sourced critical minerals. The strategy focuses on six core points that will help forge better supply chain connections between industries, resources and workers.
The first is to enhance geoscience information and support exploration efforts for critical minerals. The province also aims to develop domestic processing capabilities and create resilient local supply chains to reduce reliance on imports. Improving Ontario’s regulatory framework, investing in critical minerals innovation, research, and development, and building economic development opportunities with Indigenous partners are also on the agenda. Finally, Ontario plans to grow the labour supply and develop a skilled workforce to support the sector’s growth.
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