Canada’s Mining Sector Seeks Momentum Amid Mega-Merger and Critical Minerals Push

Canada is stepping up its efforts to carve out a stronger position in the global critical minerals landscape, particularly in rare earths which are essential components for clean technologies like electric vehicles and AI infrastructure. Despite holding significant reserves and hosting over 1,000 mining companies, Canada trails behind China, which still dominates 60 % of rare earth mining and an overwhelming 90 % of processing globally. To shift the balance, Ottawa is emphasizing international partnerships and supporting strategic projects such as Torngat Metals’ Strange Lake mine. But industry leaders stress that quicker permitting, targeted investment, and streamlined policies are urgently needed to overcome infrastructural gaps and support the stalled Ring of Fire development in Northern Ontario.

In a major corporate reshuffle, Anglo American and Canada’s Teck Resources have unveiled plans to merge, creating a $53 billion copper powerhouse dubbed “Anglo Teck.” The merged entity will be headquartered in Vancouver, with its primary listing in London and additional listings in Toronto, New York, and Johannesburg. Shareholders of Anglo American will hold a 62.4% stake, while Teck shareholders will retain 37.6%. The new company will rank among the world’s top five copper producers, with expected annual cost synergies of $800 million and projected annual output of 1.2 million metric tons. This merger comes in response to surging global copper demand driven by green energy and AI data centers.