Northern mining and processing projects assessed against national benefit, regional benefit, Indigenous inclusion and sustainability.
A working standard for evaluating northern mining projects — national benefit, regional benefit, Indigenous inclusion, and sustainability — and why each criterion is harder to satisfy than it sounds.
Two decades of operation have left Canada with high-Arctic mining infrastructure, a documented benefit model and hard-won operating knowledge. Converting that foundation into a durable critical minerals asset is the work of the next decade.
The Northwest Territories' first rare earth mine is small by commercial standards, but it is the first in Canada where an Indigenous-owned company runs the mining operation itself.
Northern Ontario's chromite and nickel deposits were identified as strategically significant nearly two decades ago. Roads to the site are still under construction, amid active legal challenges from First Nations.
