Norway House chief says First Nations can help Manitoba's potential to be global 'Costco of critical minerals'

The chief of the only First Nation to fully own a mining company in Manitoba says he wants the provincial and federal governments to recognize his community's role in boosting critical mineral exploration as a global race to secure those materials heats up.

Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson says his community took full ownership of the Minago nickel project on the Thompson nickel belt in November. The mine could enter production within the next five years, he said.

Nickel — which is used to make things like stainless steel, solar panels and batteries — is not the only critical mineral at the site. Magnesium deposits were recently discovered and they're believed to be more abundant and valuable than nickel, Anderson said.

While Anderson has noticed the federal and provincial governments jointly announcing support for mining organizations and new mining companies across the country, he says that hasn't been the case for Norway House.

"This is the first-ever First Nation-owned mine [in Manitoba], and we think the province and the federal government would want to jump on that opportunity and help First Nations get out of being a burden to the taxpayer," he said.

"First Nations can help this province become a have province, as opposed to continuing to be a have-not."

Norway House had one of 15 mining projects that received just over $3 million from the province about a year ago.

A spokesperson for Mining Minister Jamie Moses declined to comment on this story due to Election Financing Act rules about government communications during byelections. (The Transcona constituency has a byelection March 18.)

Premier Wab Kinew recently touted Manitoba as the "Costco of critical minerals" — a line previously used by former premier Heather Stefanson — when he and other Canadian leaders visited the U.S. capital earlier this month to try to dissuade American lawmakers from going ahead with proposed tariffs on Canadian goods.

"In order to keep the American economy moving forward, you need access to those raw materials," he told reporters in Washington on Feb. 12.

Kinew also said clean energy provided by Manitoba Hydro makes the province a desirable destination for future mining development.

"We have what America needs."

Digging into the details

Kinew's comments came less than a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on a hot mic telling business leaders that U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada are real and motivated by a desire to access critical minerals.

But if Manitoba truly is the Costco of critical minerals, then some of the shelves appear to be empty.

Manitoba is home to 30 of the 34 minerals on Canada's critical minerals list in 2024, which includes six that have been prioritized for their ability to drive economic growth and strengthen supply chains, the NDP provincial government's critical mineral strategy says.

However, there were just four mines digging up critical minerals in Manitoba last year, the province says: the Sinomine Resources Group's Tanco mine in Lac du Bonnet, Vale Base Metals' Thompson mine in Thompson, Hudbay Minerals' Lalor mine in Snow Lake and the Potash Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba's mine near the Saskatchewan border at Harrowby, Man., west of Russell.

Together, those mines produce seven critical minerals: copper, zinc, cobalt, nickel, potash, lithium and cesium.

There are 45 companies actively exploring for 19 critical minerals in Manitoba, including the six minerals prioritized as economic boosters: cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel and rare earth elements, the critical mineral strategy says.

Manitoba produced about 31 per cent of Canada's zinc in 2022, as well as eight per cent of its nickel and all of its cesium and lithium, the province's strategy says. Manitoba also has one of two lithium mines in North America.

'Critical to the future'

Lac du Bonnet Mayor Ken Lodge says he believes Manitoba has the potential to live up to its billing as the Costco of critical minerals.

"A lot of them are already identified in their ore bodies, and it's just a matter of having a company come in and actually start doing the work," he said.

"Nothing happens overnight … but you have to start somewhere."

However, the province has to be cautious and minimize the environmental footprint attached to increased mining activity, Lodge said.

He wants to see Manitoba leave a positive mining legacy to use the minerals "that we've been blessed with, without damaging our environment."

Those environmental risks can be managed but not completely eliminated, as critical minerals are typically found in low concentrations, requiring more ore to be dug from the ground, said Warren Mabee, director of Queen's University's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy.

"It does raise concerns, because there's so much material [to go through] in order to get the products," he said.

The global race to dig up critical minerals is largely motivated by a need to support a green economy in the future, he said.

"We need those products in order to make the motors, the batteries, the systems that will allow us to decarbonize and move toward a cleaner energy future," Mabee said.

"It's critical to the future to be able to get as much as we can."

China produces about 75 per cent of the global market's rare earth elements — a group of 17 heavy metals found in the earth that are crucial to manufacturing electronics, magnets, lasers and glass — and the country therefore has a lot of control over the supply chain, Mabee said.

The critical mineral strategy released by the Manitoba NDP government in November says industry must be "more strategic about investment" amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

It emphasizes Indigenous engagement, including notifying Indigenous groups of proposed mining activity early, and environmentally responsible mining development, requiring environmental licences from prospective mining projects.

The strategy also proposes the development of a revenue sharing model for mining with Indigenous communities, and promises to work with the federal government to support Indigenous mining in Manitoba, as well as an Indigenous procurement policy.

The strategy concludes by saying that Manitoba "hasn't been ready to take advantage" of its wealth of critical minerals in the past.

'Ready to do what it takes'

Chief Anderson said Manitoba and Canada haven't been ready to make the most of First Nations' involvement in mining development.

He wants more than just a partnership from the two levels of government.

"This has to go far deeper than that, and we need to start talking about being on the same level as the government," he said.

He suggested that First Nations are an untapped resource in the fight against Trump's mockery of Canada's sovereignty — if broken treaty promises and outstanding settlement claims are addressed.

"If they use the power of the First Nations' land ownership that was never relinquished, that could be a bigger argument to be able to stand firm on their beliefs that Canada is sovereign," he said.

"But they need to address the First Nation sovereignty issue first."

Regardless, Anderson believes his community's mine has the potential to become a strong critical mineral resource.

"We're ready to do what it takes to build Manitoba."