As global automakers and battery-cell manufacturers extract billions of dollars in incentives from the federal and Ontario governments, early-stage miners and processors of key minerals such as lithium and cobalt are waiting to receive the same treatment.
Electra is partway though construction of a cobalt-sulfate refinery in Temiskaming Shores, Ont., about 500 kilometres north of Toronto. But problems with equipment and higher-than-anticipated contractor costs, among other hurdles, have led to budget overruns. In May, the company stopped most construction on-site as it pursues new sources of capital.
“I’d be greatly disappointed if we provided such strong grants to foreign entities without providing it for fellow Ontarians to supply the battery and EV ecosystem that we’re building,” Walker said. But the clock is ticking to get more minerals out of the ground as countries around the world, including Canada, aim to boost EV uptake over the next decade.Keean Nembhard, press secretary for Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, said Ottawa is getting behind the upstream and midstream parts of the battery supply chain with its $3.8-billion critical-minerals strategy, announced in the 2022 budget.
Each government plans to spend $295 million to support Ford Motor Co.’s $1.8-billion plant retooling in Oakville, Ont., for instance, amounting to about 16 per cent of capital costs apiece. The project, formally announced in April, is one of the latest examples of the two governments’ willingness to use public cash to lock in downstream investments.
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