Federal government commits $6M to Saskatoon rare earth processing facility
Saskatchewan Research Council expects facility to start operation by end of 2024
The federal government has committed new funding to support a Saskatoon facility that processes rare earth minerals.
Dan Vandal, minister responsible for PrairiesCan, was in the city on Thursday to announce a $6-million grant for the Saskatchewan Research Council's rare earth processing facility, the first of its kind in Canada.
The facility aims to establish Saskatchewan as a hub for the rare earth element supply chain and form an industry model for future commercial expansion in the province.
Rare earth elements are naturally occurring minerals that are used in batteries for electric vehicles, wind turbines and everyday electronics, and for industrial purposes.
The federal government said the funding will help the research council "establish and commercialize a process" to separate unrecovered rare earth oxides from radioactive monazite tailings.
This means material that would otherwise be thrown away could produce enough rare earth elements to make batteries for up to 65,000 electric vehicle batteries per year.
"This is an important investment, not just for Saskatchewan and not just for Saskatoon, but for the entire country," said Vandal, who recently toured the facility along with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Trade Minister Mary Ng.
Mike Crabtree, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council, said the new funding will help the research council in two important processes — producing more rare earth elements and doing it more quickly, more safely and with less demand on manual labour.
"So rather than having folks engaged with the smelter for 24 hours a day, it's now a maximum of two hours a day," he said.
The funding will also help in the development of an automated metal smelting process to produce rare earth metals that are of commercial quality.
Crabtree said that when the new facility goes into operation, it will be able to compete with the Chinese market, which is a global leader in the rare earths industry.
At the same time, he said this will be the most environmentally sustainable plant in the world.
"These types of plants produce vast or utilize vast quantities of water and chemicals. This will not emit one single drop," he said. "Everything will be recycled and reused."
Jeremy Harrison, provincial minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Research Council, said the funding from the federal government, along with the initial $71-million investment from the Saskatchewan government, will help the research council break new ground in the rare earth space.
The new funding is on top of $2.5 million provided by PrairiesCan in 2022 and a recent $5-million investment from Natural Resources Canada.
"These latest innovations will ensure Saskatchewan is producing the highest quality [rare earth element] metals to power global technology," Harrison said.
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said he's excited about the work happening at the new facility.
"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," Clark said in a news release.
He added that the work done at the facility will be crucial in meeting global demand for the magnets and rare earth minerals that will be needed to power the future.
The funding for this project comes more than a year after the federal government invested in a private rare earth mining company.
Vital Metals shut down its Saskatoon facility due to rising costs and declared bankruptcy in September 2023.
"We are investigating how we can recoup those dollars. That work is ongoing," Vandal said.
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