Sask. government offers $500M to boost critical mineral sector

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Hoping to encourage the development of critical minerals in Saskatchewan, the provincial government has announced the rollout of two new incentive programs.

The Critical Minerals Processing Investment Incentive and the Saskatchewan Critical Minerals Innovation Incentive will take applications from companies interested in developing 11 kinds of critical minerals.

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The province will allocate $500 million between the two programs, funding them until 2029.

To be eligible for incentives, which come via transferable Crown royalties and production tax credits, companies must invest a minimum of $10 million.

Provincial Minister of Energy and Resources Jim Reiter said the government sees a lot of potential for the development of minerals in Saskatchewan, including lithium and helium.

He noted the government has implemented similar incentives for other industries in the past.

“Very similar programs have been very successful in our oil and gas industry,” Reiter said.

At the same media event on Thursday, officials announced that Saskatchewan-based Prairie Lithium had produced the first kilogram of lithium mined in the province.

Reiter said the federal government classifies around 34 minerals as critical for Canada, and 27 of them are known to be present in Saskatchewan. He added that the government is especially hopeful about the potential of lithium and helium and believes the two incentive programs will play a constructive role.

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“We think with this little bit of a kickstart from government, it’s going to help these take off,” he said.

The new incentives will also cover development of mining for copper, zinc, magnesium and other rare earth minerals.

The two new initiatives are part of Saskatchewan’s larger critical mineral strategy, which was announced by the government in 2023. Reiter said the early part of the strategy focused more on encouraging companies to undertake exploration work in the province.

“We’ve had a great deal of success in the last year with companies taking us up on that and doing a lot of exploration,” he said.

The newly announced critical mineral initiatives are aimed at encouraging companies to develop manufacturing and other capacity, Reiter added.

He said he was not prepared to provide any firm numbers on the potential economic impact of the new initiatives. Reiter said the province is already a leader in the development of key minerals.

“Potash, uranium, we’re global leaders there,” he said.

Reiter noted that lithium, which is a crucial component for many batteries, has potential markets all over the world but there is not much lithium development in North America. Leaders at Prairie Lithium are very optimistic about the future of the industry, he said.

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“Their prediction was that growth is going to be absolutely enormous.”

Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) president Pam Schwann said she welcomed the province’s announcement. The incentives show why Saskatchewan is considered a top jurisdiction for investment by the industry, Schwann said.

“Programs like this … will attract new investment and help reach the goal of doubling the number of critical minerals produced in the province by 2030.”

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