Energy Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON says the U.S. military’s decision to award $14.8 million in funding for two Canadian critical mineral companies comes with “no strings attached.”
The U.S. Defense Department confirmed Fortune Minerals and Lomiko Metals will receive grants from the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to mine and process critical minerals in North America just as a trade war heats up with China.
Both companies are early-stage miners looking to produce and refine critical minerals for rechargeable batteries with projects proposed in the Northwest Territories and Quebec.
Playbook caught up with Wilkinson for more details about the deal and the U.S. military’s involvement in developing Canada’s critical minerals supply chain. Pro subscribers can read the full interview here.
This excerpt has been edited for length and clarity.
The U.S. is offering more under the DPA than Canada under its critical minerals strategy. How does that affect ownership of these Canadian companies?
These are grants. No strings attached.
In the case of Lomiko, the American investment is larger, although we have actually put some money into Lomiko in the past. In Fortune, our investment is actually bigger. We have put money into Fortune previously.
But the agreement with the Americans wasn’t necessarily that we would do exactly the same amount on each investment — it was that we would look to co-invest where it made sense for the purpose of accelerating the work that needs to be done.
“No strings attached” to Department of Defense money? Really?
The only string attached is that we all want to see these companies actually move faster and get to the point where they can actually produce product sooner.