Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration Program
Advancing the commercial readiness of emerging mineral processing operations or technologies
The Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program is providing $192.1 million in federal funding to support the development of innovative processing technologies for the critical minerals industry, which will help advance Canadian mining projects toward production and further develop domestic critical minerals value chains.
CMRDD is administered through two funding streams:
Federal research and development projects
Closed for applications
Funds federal research and development (R&D) projects that are aligned with industry needs and supported by several of Canada’s federal research facilities
Project applications from the most recent expression of interest intake process are currently in review. Funded projects will be announced in spring 2024.
Contribution funding
Closed for applications
Funds to advance technological solutions for the production of critical minerals at several stages, such as processing, downstream product manufacturing and recycling
Project applications from the most recent call for proposals are currently in review. Funded projects will be announced in spring 2024.
Background
Within each funding stream, allocations will be made in phases as funding becomes available. The following provides a breakdown of budget allocations to date:
Federal research and development
Between 2022 and 2024, $35.7 million was allocated to 30 R&D projects undertaken by federal research laboratories and focused on battery minerals, mining value from waste, clean tech and other value chains. Learn more about Canada’s R&D projects.
The most recent budget will allocate up to $44.4 million to federal R&D laboratories for the development of new or improved technologies that support the advancement of critical mineral value chains. In order to better align federal R&D with industry needs, industry and academia were invited to submit an expression of interest to collaborate with federal research laboratories on upstream and midstream projects at low to mid technology readiness levels (TRL) 2–5 with the capacity to:
- make significant positive impacts on the critical minerals industry in Canada
- help propel projects into the pilot and demonstration (pre-commercialization) phase of development
Status: This call for applications is closed. A list of funded projects will be announced soon.
Contribution funding
Between 2022 and 2025, $22.2 million in contribution funding was allocated to pilot plant and demonstration projects. In total, eight projects were funded to validate the feasibility and viability of processing technologies. See the list of funded projects below.
The most recent call for proposals will allocate up to $40 million to support midstream projects at technology readiness levels 6–8. This will help to advance the commercial readiness of emerging processing technologies and provide raw material inputs for use in:
- batteries and permanent magnets
- advanced manufacturing supply chains
- semiconductors
- information and communication technologies
- critical infrastructure value chains for commercialization
Status: This call for applications is closed. Funded projects will be announced and listed below.
Funded Projects
The following is a list of projects that received contribution funding from the CMRDD program (additional projects will be announced soon). These projects help to advance production of zero-emission vehicle batteries and other clean technologies such as the manufacturing of permanent magnets.
Kingston Demonstration Plant – Extended Operations
Organization: Cyclic Materials Inc.
Description: Operate a demonstration plant that produces high-purity mixed rare earth oxide (MREO) and a cobalt/nickel mixed hydroxide product (MHP) from mixed feed sources using proprietary Cyclic Materials Inc. physical (spoke) and hydrometallurgical (hub) processes, validating operating conditions to support future scale and commercial operations.
Amount funded: $4,893,125
Status: Launching in 2024; expected to be completed by 2027
Critical Mineral: Rare earth elements, cobalt, nickel
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Canadian Brine to Battery Chemicals: Simplified, Lower Cost, More Sustainable
Organization: Saltworks Technologies Inc.
Description: Process geological lithium brines using Saltwork’s novel technologies to produce lithium battery precursors through a process that reduces costs and energy while increasing lithium yield.
Amount funded: $4,937,500
Status: Launching in 2024; expected to be completed by 2027
Critical Mineral: Lithium
Location: Richmond, British Columbia
Electrolysis for lithium production and recycling
Organization: NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc. (NESI)
Description: Establish a demonstration plant and continuous improvement test centre to advance the industrial implementation of the NORSCAND® membrane electrolysis technology for battery grade lithium hydroxide production through long-duration lithium production campaigns.
Amount funded: $4,500,000
Status: Launching in 2024; expected to be completed by 2027
Critical Mineral: Lithium
Location: Richmond, British Columbia
Piloting of bioleaching processes for recovery of battery metals (Ni and Co) from pyrrhotite tailings
Organization: Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO)
Description: Perform continuous pilot campaigns to compare three competing bioleaching technologies developed with academic, industry and government research partners to demonstrate which one provides the most efficient, economic and environmentally sustainable method for the recovering of nickel, cobalt and copper from pyrrhotite-rich tailings.
Amount funded: $5,000,000
Status: Expected to start in 2024
Critical Mineral: Nickel, cobalt, copper
Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Black Mass Recycling Project
Organization: Electra Battery Materials Corporation
Description: Demonstrate Electra’s hydrometallurgical process for recycling black mass material on a continuous production basis
Amount funded: $5,000,000
Status: Expected to start in 2024
Critical Mineral: Nickel, cobalt, lithium
Location: Cobalt, Ontario and Temiskaming Shores, Ontario
La Loutre Graphite Upgrading
Organization: Lomiko Metals Inc.
Description: Pilot upgrading of 200 tonnes of La Loutre graphite to prove the suitability of the battery anode material meeting purity levels of over 99.95% graphitic carbon content and very low impurity content
Amount funded: $4,941,590
Status: Expected to start in 2024
Critical Mineral: Graphite
Location: Lac-des-plages, Quebec
Cobalt Sulphate Process Pilot
Organization: Fortune Minerals Limited
Description: Pilot hydrometallurgical process to validate and optimize process conditions for the production of high-purity cobalt sulphate, bismuth ingots and blending of process streams; and the validation of gypsum by-product; as well as ensure the process residue is stable for safe disposal
Amount funded: $714,500
Status: Launched in November 2023; expected to be completed by March 2025
Critical Minerals: Cobalt, nickel
Location: Northwest Territories
*Building on this project, additional funding of up to $7.5 million from Canada’s Global Partnerships Initiative may be allocated to Fortune to help advance engineering for mine site and refinery infrastructure through the completion of its Front-End Engineering and Design study.
RapidSX™ Commercialization Demonstration Plant
Organization: Ucore Rare Metals Inc.
Description: Demonstrate the commercial efficacy of the RapidSX™ rare earth elements separation technology platform under rigorously simulated commercial conditions
Amount funded: $4,275,848
Status: Launched in November 2023; expected to be completed in March 2025
Critical Minerals: Rare earth elements
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Technical and Economical Feasibility of Dumont Nickel Concentrate
Organization: Magneto Investments Limited Partnership
Description: Explore and optimize the key design parameters of processing nickel concentrate into battery intermediates (i.e., mixed hydroxide precipitate and nickel sulphate) using a hydrometallurgical program
Amount funded: $4,493,889
Status: Launched in November 2023; expected to be completed in March 2025
Critical Minerals: Nickel, cobalt
Location: Amos, Quebec
Solvent Extraction for the Separation of Dysprosium and Terbium
Organization: Saskatchewan Research Council
Description: Develop, design, install, commission and test the separation of dysprosium and terbium oxide, using a solvent extraction process
Amount funded: $4,990,000
Status: Launched in October 2023; expected to be completed in March 2025
Critical Minerals: Rare earth elements
Location: Saskatchewan
Recycling and Production of Rare-Earth Oxides from Permanent Magnet Scrap
Organization: Geomega Resources Inc.
Description: Demonstrate the sustainability of an innovative process to recycle rare earth elements from magnet scrap with a lower carbon footprint compared to other standard processes
Amount funded: $3,000,000
Status: Launched in March 2023; expected to be completed in February 2025
Critical Minerals: Rare earth elements
Location: Saint-Hubert and Longueuil, Quebec
Battery Material Supply Chain Integration
Organization: FPX Nickel Corp.
Description: Demonstrate the technical and economic viability to produce battery-grade, high-purity nickel, cobalt and copper for the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) battery supply chain from the Baptiste Nickel Project
Amount funded: $724,858
Status: Launched in March 2023; expected to be completed in September 2024
Critical Minerals: Nickel, cobalt, copper
Location: British Columbia
Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Pilot Project
Organization: E3 Lithium Ltd
Description: Construct and operate a DLE pilot plant that extracted lithium from brine using proprietary DLE technology
Amount funded: $3,545,000
Status: Launched March 2023; completed March 2024
Critical Mineral: Lithium
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) Integration into Sherritt’s Fort Saskatchewan Metals Refinery
Organization: Sherritt International Corporation
Description: Evaluate the feasibility and opportunity of using MHP as an additional feed material to efficiently produce high-purity nickel and cobalt
Amount funded: $575,300
Status: Launched in March 2023; completed in March 2024
Critical Minerals: Nickel, cobalt
Location: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
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