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This article first appeared in the the Globe and Mail.
The overriding message I took from joining leaders recently at the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York was a growing sense of urgency and realisation that our world is changing. Addressing climate change when the planet’s population is approaching 8 billion people, all with the expectation of a decent quality of life, has become an existential challenge. At the same time, growing geopolitical tensions mean countries have become much more focused on the importance of secure supply chains.
The critical minerals needed to change the world’s energy and manufacturing systems are at the heart of both trends. This is why I was particularly heartened to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday at our RTIT Quebec Operations (RTIT) metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, to announce a strategic partnership that can contribute to Canada’s leadership on critical minerals supply and climate change.
We are investing together in innovations aimed at addressing these 2 megatrends: to decarbonise our operations at RTIT, which has substantial emissions, and to develop new plants to extract critical minerals. These facilities will become a strong and secure supply source for manufacturers in Canada and the United States for low-carbon titanium and steel, scandium and lithium – metals and minerals needed for a range of industries, including electric vehicles and aerospace.
RTIT was built in the 1950s, in the post-war period when Western countries industrialised and created prosperity for citizens. It is part of what made Canada a dream when I grew up in Europe. The last few decades of globalisation has resulted in tough competition from developing nations and many industrial sites in the Western world have closed. Yet, RTIT has survived. Like Rio Tinto’s other industrial complexes supplying aluminium, copper, titanium and iron ore facilities across Canada and the United States, it stands as an irreplaceable asset for the North American manufacturing sector, built on substantial investments over time. The future is not just about decarbonisation and a circular economy, but also about durability. We will be investing in innovative and more sustainable industrial processes to position the site for the future. This is how we are looking at our businesses across the country.
Visiting RTIT makes it clear that developing critical minerals supply is less about where minerals are found, and more about having access to processing facilities. And above all, it’s about talented and experienced people who are able to invent new ways of extracting those minerals. RTIT has world-class R&D capabilities, decades in the making, that saw it recently become North America’s first producer of scandium, a key input for industries such as aerospace. This capacity in Canada is a platform on which to continue building climate leadership.
The Government of Canada is already partnering with us on aluminium, alongside Alcoa, Apple and the Government of Quebec, to develop the breakthrough zero-carbon ELYSISTM smelting technology – a revolutionary change in the 130-year-old process used to make aluminium. Combined with the renewable hydroelectricity that powers our smelters here in Canada, it holds the promise of carbon-free aluminium production.
Both of these partnerships, at RTIT and on ELYSIS, are aimed at driving not just technical innovation but also the industrial application of solutions. This is exactly the approach we need to see fostered and replicated across sectors and through supply chains. Canada’s abundant mineral resources, eminent research and development facilities, skilled work force, renewable hydroelectricity, quality of life, and partnership-oriented governments give it tremendous advantages over other jurisdictions. This presents the opportunity to lead climate action and provides a unique platform for the creation of jobs, economic investment and industry to support the energy transition and build communities.
What more can Canada do to maximise its impact? Continuing to encourage and attract foreign direct investment will always be key to help promote supply chain enhancement, research, and innovation. As will nurturing the skilled and talented work force to support a vital green supply chain, through world-class postsecondary educational institutions and immigration. And, with an eye to the investment now under way in the United States, Canada can drive even further productivity, economic growth, and sustain the country’s high quality of life through its own infrastructure spending.
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With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
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As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
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