Climate advocates, indigenous tribes protest efforts to mine $67B of minerals in Canada

Beneath a remote expanse of wilderness in Canada lies a rare mineral deposit that officials have called the world’s most important untapped source of nickel, copper and cobalt. Worth an estimated $67 billion, these metals, located in a region known as the Ring of Fire, are essential for building the batteries that power electric vehicles.

“Canada could be the world’s number one supplier of critical minerals if they get it right now,” said Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. 

With both Canada and the United States aiming to phase out gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035 in favor of an electrified fleet, the value of these resources has been climbing in recent years. Retrieving them, though, will likely be challenging.

This deposit of rare minerals is buried underneath a large ecosystem of peat bogs, which hold more carbon per square foot than even the Amazon rainforest. The peatlands and forests within the Ring of Fire eat carbon out of the atmosphere, storing away about 35 billion tons, equivalent to the emissions generated annually from 39 billion cars.

“If you have any type of disturbance that has the potential to have large-scale changes to how wet the site is or the vegetation community that’s there, you’re going to reduce the ability to store carbon,” said Maria Strack, a Canada Research Chair in ecosystem and climate at the University of Waterloo who specializes in peatland emissions.

Climate advocates have warned that attempting to dig for resources on this land could result in the release of more greenhouse gases than all of what Canada emits in one year. Local indigenous tribes have also spoken out against efforts to mine the Ring of Fire, which they have referred to as a project that will destroy their lands.

“We have made it very clear time and time again. We don’t want development. We’re not happy about that. It seems like they just ignore our voice,” said Rudy Turtle, chief of Grassy Narrows First Nation. “If we have to stand up physically or take some physical action, then we’re going to do that.”

“We are threatening to destroy so many forests and peat lands that eat the carbon out of the atmosphere. The impact could be catastrophic,” said Kate Kempton, a lawyer representing indigenous groups that are suing the Ontario government to halt development at several prospective mining sites, including the Ring of Fire.

Additionally, a lack of roads leading to the area has dissuaded prior attempts to start development. Despite these concerns, some Canadian government officials remain determined to dig up these minerals.

“If I have to hop on a bulldozer myself, we’re going to start building roads to the Ring of Fire,” said Doug Ford, premier of the province of Ontario, within which the Ring of Fire is located.

“If the premier wants to get a bulldozer to cross our river system, he’s going to be met by our people,” said Wayne Moonias, chief of Neskantaga First Nation.

A similar conflict has unfolded in the United States. Geologists believe they have uncovered the world’s largest deposit of lithium, another crucial electric vehicle battery component, within the McDermitt Caldera, an ancient supervolcano along the Nevada-Oregon border. Environmental groups and Native American tribal members have voiced concerns about mining and development around the site.