Canada-South Korea Critical Minerals Partnership Takes Shape

Critical minerals have become a pressure point in the global economy, and Canada and South Korea are well-positioned to form a partnership that can deliver. The two countries have a compelling basis for cooperation due to Canada's deep resource potential and low-carbon power, and South Korea's industrial scale and demand.

The policy architecture is already in place, with Korean companies having established a meaningful industrial foothold in Canada. However, the harder test lies in commercial execution: financing mines, building processing capacity, and securing contracts that can withstand volatile prices and geopolitical shocks.

Canada and South Korea have deepened their bilateral cooperation on critical minerals, with both countries recognizing them as instruments of industrial and economic security. The 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy in Canada and the 2023 Critical Minerals Securing Strategy in South Korea address different points of vulnerability, but can be matched to create a partnership that delivers.

Canadian project-development support can be matched with Korean capital, technical expertise, and long-term demand, particularly in upstream and midstream segments. However, commercial execution remains the decisive test for this partnership.