{"id":2179,"date":"2026-04-28T10:14:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/?p=2179"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:14:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:14:58","slug":"canada-strange-lake-rare-earths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/canada-strange-lake-rare-earths\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s rare earth push signals changing priorities in global trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHEN CANADA announced the $175 million loan for the Strange Lake project, many people’s first reaction seemed to be to tie it directly to what\u2019s happening globally right now with China, geopolitics, and supply disruptions.<\/p>\n

While that\u2019s part of the picture, I wouldn\u2019t say that\u2019s the full story. From what we\u2019ve seen over time, this has been moving in this direction long before now.<\/p>\n

A global shift toward supply chain security is accelerating<\/h3>\n

If you go back a decade or so, the focus was really on globalisation. How do we source materials for less? How do we move production to lower-cost regions?<\/p>\n

That worked for a long time. But over the last several years, there\u2019s been a shift. Gradually, it\u2019s become more about security, control, and reliability.<\/p>\n

Where are the materials coming from, and what happens if that supply gets interrupted? You see that across multiple regions. It\u2019s not just Canada; the U.S. is doing it, as is Europe.<\/p>\n

Different policies, different structures, but the same general direction: trying to bring more of that supply chain closer, or at least make it more secure. So, when I look at this project, I don\u2019t see it as a reaction to one specific event, but rather as part of that longer trend.<\/p>\n

Now, things like geopolitical tensions or disruptions<\/a> do matter. They tend to push things forward faster. But they\u2019re not the starting point.<\/p>\n

Mining gets the headlines, but processing holds the power<\/h3>\n
\n
What Is Strange Lake?<\/span>
\nBackground<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

One of the largest deposits of heavy rare earth elements in the Western world, located beneath the tundra of northern Quebec. The metals found here, dysprosium and terbium, go into electric vehicles, wind turbines and military equipment.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Location<\/td>\nNunavik, northern Quebec<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Operator<\/td>\nTorngat Metals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Federal loan<\/td>\nCAD $175 million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Feasibility study<\/td>\nExpected 2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
First production<\/td>\nTargeted 2029 to 2030<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

China controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing. Strange Lake is part of Canada’s push to build its own supply chain for these materials.<\/p>\n

\n

Sources: Natural Resources Canada \u00b7 Torngat Metals<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

One thing that comes up a lot in these discussions is the focus on mining. But when you really look at it, the bigger issue tends to be on the processing side.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where a lot of the concentration is, especially in China, which is estimated to control a significant majority of global rare earth<\/a> refining capacity, recently cited at around 90%. So even if you\u2019re mining materials in North America or elsewhere, you\u2019re still dependent on external processing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the part that\u2019s harder to replace. And that\u2019s why projects like Strange Lake matter a bit more than just the resource itself. It\u2019s not only about extracting the material; it\u2019s also about what happens after that.<\/p>\n

From where I sit, it really comes down to having both. If you only have the mine, you\u2019re still tied into the global system. If you only have processing, you need feedstock.<\/p>\n

So over the long term, it has to be a combination. That\u2019s where Canada\u2019s investment starts to come into play. By supporting projects like Strange Lake, the goal is not just to develop the resource but to move closer to having both pieces in place over time.<\/p>\n

That creates a path toward greater independence, which ties back to the broader shift we\u2019re seeing where countries are taking more control over their own supply chains rather than relying as heavily on global systems.<\/p>\n

Long timelines and market realities will define success<\/h3>\n

The other piece that doesn\u2019t always get enough attention is timing. There\u2019s sometimes an assumption that once funding is announced, production is not too far behind.<\/p>\n

In reality, however, projects of this type take a long time. Mining projects<\/a>, on average, you\u2019re looking at 10-15 years. Sometimes longer, depending on permitting and market conditions.<\/p>\n

At Industrial Info Resources, we\u2019ve tracked projects that go well beyond that. Processing is faster, but it\u2019s still a multi-year process, at least three to five years. So this is not something that changes supply overnight.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a long-term investment. And in North America, there are additional hurdles. Permitting can take time. Costs are higher. The overall process is slower compared to other regions, making it more difficult to compete on speed and cost.<\/p>\n

Government funding helps, no question. It can move projects forward and reduce some of the upfront risk. However, it doesn\u2019t solve everything. These projects still have to make sense economically.<\/p>\n

Policy is another component at play. For projects that take 10 or 15 years, consistency matters. If the policy environment keeps shifting, it becomes harder for companies to commit capital.<\/p>\n

So when I look at this investment, I don\u2019t see it as a quick solution. It\u2019s more of a step in a longer process. Countries are trying to build out their own supply chains, reduce reliance where they can, and add both mining and processing capacity over time.<\/p>\n

While Canada is taking strides to strengthen its own resources and supply chain, it\u2019s one country of many that\u2019s moving in this direction. Even still, that kind of shift does not happen quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHEN CANADA announced the $175 million loan for the Strange Lake project, many people’s first reaction seemed to be to tie it directly to what\u2019s happening globally right now with China, geopolitics, and supply disruptions. While that\u2019s part of the picture, I wouldn\u2019t say that\u2019s the full story. From what we\u2019ve seen over time, this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"Canada is spending $175 million to mine rare earths, but a veteran analyst says processing them is the bigger problem nobody is talking about","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"4","show_post_tag":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":{"paragraph_limit":"2","enable_premium_post":"0","enable_free_post":"0","override_paragraph_limit":"0","enable_preview_post":"0","enable_preview_video":"0"},"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,381,44,392],"tags":[502,137,500,499,501],"class_list":["post-2179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contributors","category-finance-investment","category-global-mining","category-government-regulation","tag-canada-mining","tag-critical-minerals","tag-rare-earths","tag-strange-lake","tag-torngat-metals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2179"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2206,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179\/revisions\/2206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zimining.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}