Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an investment of up to $222 million to help Rio Tinto increase its production of critical minerals and decarbonize its Sorel-Tracy plant, while the company will invest $537 million ( approximately CA$740 million).
The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, at the Rio Tinto plant in Sorel-Tracy in Montérégie, Tuesday afternoon.
The partnership aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Sorel-Tracy plant by nearly half by 2030. The company would proceed in particular with the electrification of furnaces and the replacement of coal.
The company’s investment, and assistance from Ottawa, is also intended to cement “Rio Tinto’s leadership as a North American supplier of critical minerals to key growth areas like electric vehicles, 3D printing and aerospace”.
Higher production of critical minerals like lithium, titanium and scandium
According to Ottawa, this aid “will help create up to 150 good Canadian jobs” and will help maintain a “solid workforce” at Rio Tinto in Sorel-Tracy, particularly in positions for highly skilled workers.
“Good middle-class jobs, clean air and technology made in Canada: this is our vision for a strong economy and a bright future,” said Justin Trudeau, adding that this investment will help Canada to become a leader in the field of critical minerals.
Ottawa’s $222 million investment will come from the Strategic Innovation Fund.
“Helping the growth of Canada’s critical mineral supply chains will allow our country to remain a world leader in this strategic sector,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, of Science and Industry.
Rio Tinto has started production of spodumene concentrate
In addition, Rio Tinto has started in recent months the production of spodumene concentrate, a mineral used in particular in the manufacture of lithium for electric vehicle batteries.
With this production, Rio Tinto wants to demonstrate that it is possible, on an industrial scale, to use a new spodumene concentration process which offers “lithium oxide (Li20) contents and recovery rates well above industry average.
This new process, developed by researchers at Rio Tinto’s Center for Technology and Critical Minerals, has been tested on spodumene ore samples from various countries, and according to Rio Tinto, it “offers the environmental benefit of not to use chemicals and to generate only inert dry residues”.