Canada and B.C. invest in infrastructure upgrades to support critical minerals and advanced mfg.

SURREY — Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, with Josie Osborne, B.C.’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation and Rob Fleming, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, announced a joint investment of $195 million to upgrade key highway infrastructure in B.C.’s northwest needed to support critical minerals development in the region, improve community access and safety, and create mining jobs across the province.

Supported by collaboration between governments and funded through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, a flagship program under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, this project has been conditionally approved to support the development and operation of several copper, molybdenum, zinc, nickel and cobalt projects in B.C.’s Golden Triangle region. The federal contribution totals up to $75 million with the remaining $120 million being funded by B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

The Northwest BC Highway Corridor Improvements Project is a key action of B.C.’s Critical Minerals Strategy, a top priority for the Tahltan Central Government and the mining industry in B.C. and a shared priority of the federal government. It will provide a series of improvements for Highways 37, 37A and 51, which include widening shoulders, creating pullouts for slow-moving vehicles, adding chain up/chain off areas and increasing Wi-Fi access along 800 kilometres of roadway. These upgrades reportedly allow increased industrial traffic linked to mining activity and will aim to generate well-defined, long-term benefits for First Nations and local communities in the region, including enhanced safety, reliability and accessibility of essential services.

Improvements to these highways are integral to advancing critical minerals development in B.C.’s northwest, in consultation with First Nations. The area served by these infrastructure improvements has been called the “Golden Triangle” for its mineral potential, holding approximately 75 percent of Canada’s known copper reserves. Expanded and improved highways have the potential to create up to an estimated 3,000 jobs, $20 billion in capital investments and over $450 million in annual mineral taxes, as well as substantial local First Nations revenue-sharing and economic opportunities for First Nations.

A recent report by the Mining Association of B.C. found that Metro Vancouver alone has 1,125 companies supplying goods and services to the mining sector and received economic benefits of $1.4 billion in 2022. This includes Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Ltd. in Surrey, B.C., which hosted today’s announcement and has provided equipment in the northwest region of the province for Newmont Corporation’s Brucejack Mine.

“B.C. has the critical minerals the world needs to build a clean economy. We are seizing the generational opportunity before us to create jobs, not only in northwest B.C., but also in communities across the province that supply and provide services to our mining sector. Working with Tahltan and Canada, these significant investments into Highways 37 and 51 will provide safer roads for workers and residents alike, in Tahltan, Nsiga’a and Gitanyow territories, and better services for people and communities in the region,” said Josie Osborne,B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.