Canada Deepens Critical Minerals Cooperation with South Korea and Japan

Canada's critical minerals diplomacy kept pace with its domestic policy this year. In June, Canada and the Republic of Korea agreed to develop a joint plan for critical minerals stockpiling by the end of 2026, building on an existing memorandum of understanding covering critical mineral supply chains, clean energy transition, and energy security. Around the same time, Canada and Japan advanced their own critical minerals partnership, anchored by more than CAD $1 billion in signed commercial agreements and active discussions on offtake agreements and joint mining ventures. Canada has now established critical minerals collaboration frameworks with the UK, the EU, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Chile, and Argentina.

These agreements are a reminder of who NeoLithica's eventual customers are likely to be: battery and automotive economies that have made clear, public commitments to sourcing lithium outside of concentrated, geopolitically exposed supply chains. As Alberta's brine-hosted lithium resource moves toward commercial production, this is the demand signal it's moving toward.

Source: "Canada and the Republic of Korea deepen co-operation on energy resources and critical minerals"