Canada is moving closer to deploying around $3.5 billion in investments and programs to

accelerate development

of

critical minerals deposits

.

Energy Minister

Tim Hodgson

gave further details on the package on Tuesday, including $44 million for upgrades to the Northwest Transmission Line in northern British Columbia, which is to help power Newmont Corp.’s Red Chris copper mine expansion. There’s also $50 million for improvements to BC Hydro’s transmission system to provide more electricity to Teck Resources Ltd.’s copper operations.

Those two projects are

part of $165 million in investments

being announced by the government to speed up planning, development and processing capacity

of mines

.

The minister formally launched the $1.5 billion First and Last Mile Fund, which was announced in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s November budget. It aims to build roads, transmission lines and other infrastructure to bring mineral deposits into production faster — addressing one of the sector’s biggest bottlenecks.

Hodgson said the $2 billion Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund — also announced in the budget — will begin operating in the coming months.

The fund will allow the federal government to take equity stakes, offer loan guarantees, and secure supply agreements to help projects reach final investment decisions more quickly.

As well, to help companies navigate

Canada’s complex regulatory landscape

, Hodgson introduced an online tool to help navigate federal mine permits and approvals.

“Canada has the minerals the world wants, and we are acting with speed, scale and purpose to get them from deposit to market,” the minister said in a statement.

Canada wants to position itself as a reliable alternative to China for critical minerals used in smartphones, laptops, data centres, and other digital-economy technologies. But it faces several obstacles, including remote deposits with little infrastructure, lengthy environmental and Indigenous-consultation requirements, and fierce global competition for capital.

Bloomberg.com

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