Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston and the Islands, speaks at a funding announcement at Ucore Rare Metals Inc. in Kingston. Photo by Cris Vilela/Kingstonist.
Today, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, Natural Resources Canada announced a $4.2-million investment in Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (Ucore) at its processing facility in Kingston.
The investment is to be spread over two years and will support Canada’s participation in the growing market of heavy and light rare earth elements, which will help increase the supply of critical electric motor metals that are essential to the development of a domestic electric vehicle value chain, according to a media release from Kingston Economic Development.
The federal government stated that these critical minerals “play a key role in powering the green and digital economy, and demand for them is projected to increase significantly.” The investment announced today will reportedly help scale up and demonstrate the commercial efficacy of Ucore’s patent-pending and Canadian-developed rare earth element separation technology platform.
Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced the investment to Ucore at it’s Kingston headquarters.
MP Gerretsen (second from left) speaks with those in attendance at a funding announcement for Ucore, including Ucore Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Schrider (third from right) on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Photo by Cris Vilela/Kingstonist.
“Canada is a reliable, stable and secure supplier for critical minerals and the products they enable — we have what it takes to thrive in the low-carbon future, from abundant resources to skilled workers. Investments like this one are precisely what we need to see in order to seize the economic opportunities of the low-carbon future while creating good local jobs in communities like Kingston,” MP Gerretsen stated.
Funded through the Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program, Ucore’s project will support Canada in increasing its metals that are essential to the development of electric vehicle motors, according to a release from Natural Resources Canada, which noted that this is a “critical step in the development of a domestic electric vehicle value chain.”
Instead of shipping Canada’s concentrates overseas for foreign separation, Ucore’s project will support Canada’s direct participation in the growing market of heavy and light rare earth elements. According to the release, this funding will also provide employment opportunities for skilled trades and professional occupations, including Indigenous communities.
Importantly, the investment supports the development of Canadian expertise and deploys a new, more sustainable technology to the benefit of other domestic companies, the government stated. In addition to electric vehicles, rare earth elements are also required for wind turbines and a variety of electronics.
Mike Shrider, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Ucore, took some time to chat with MP Gerretsen about the company and what it does. During their conversation, Gerretsen inquired about the actual processing that Ucore undertakes, leading to a response from Shrider that truly broke down that processing for all to understand.
“We have miners around the world that are going to send us what’s called mixed rare earth oxide or mixed rare carbon. That’s a that’s a chemical concentrate of rare earth [mineral]s. It’s in high purity form. And it’ll arrive in… about [a] one ton sack. It’ll look like powder, it’ll look like sand… It’s dry,” he explained.
“We’ll take that, and we’ll just dissolve it in this acid tank. And then you’ve got the rare earth ions that are then floating around in the acid,” Schrider continued before motioning to a piece of equipment on the floor of the Ucore facility on Justus Drive in Kingston.
“Then, what this machine here does is you input the acid that has the ions that are floating around, this machine will separate out the targeted ions that we’re after for that particular step. We store those ions that are segregated now into those tanks over there, and then those tanks become the input for the next step in the process,” Schrider continued.
“So, ultimately, you would end up with exactly what you’re trying to [get]. So, for example, if we want it to get to dysprosium as an element, it’ll eventually end up over there as a dysprosium chloride. And then we can turn that to dysprosium oxide, and that’s what the world wants.”
According to the federal government, Canada is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building a cleaner and more prosperous economy. Creating domestic processing streams and developing expertise in the critical minerals space will reportedly create good jobs, build more competitive value chains, and ensure investment and economic growth in communities across the country, the Government of Canada said.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
