Canada, India fit well as partners in critical minerals: Envoy Cooter

Canadian envoy Chris Cooter highlighted growing cooperation with India in critical minerals and clean energy. He stated Canada, with its vast reserves of coal, uranium, and rare earths, is a reliable partner for India's industrial and energy needs.

Canadian High Commissioner to India Chris Cooter on Monday said that Canada sees significant opportunities to deepen cooperation with India in critical minerals and clean energy, with both countries increasingly seeking reliable partners amid global geopolitical and economic disruptions.

Speaking to ANI, Cooter said Canada and India are well-positioned to complement each other's strengths, particularly in the clean energy transition and critical minerals sector. "Countries like Canada and like India, I would say, are looking for partners that they can rely on. And Canada and India then fit very well together," he said. "If you think of it as two gears, they're gears that need to come together because one can propel the other if they fit. And they do fit very well on critical minerals," he added.

A Partnership in Critical Minerals

Highlighting Canada's resource base, Cooter said the country possesses vast reserves of minerals essential for India's industrial growth and energy transition. "We have something like six billion tons of metallurgical coal in Canada," he said, noting that Canada currently exports only a fraction of India's annual coal imports despite having "lots and lots of headroom to grow."

He also pointed to cooperation in uranium, nickel, lithium, rare earth elements and tungsten, saying Canada is positioning itself as a long-term and reliable supplier. "We're the number two in terms of production of uranium in the world. You have set a goal of 100 gigawatts for nuclear power. Right now you're at 8 gigawatts. The remaining 92 gigawatts needs uranium," he said.

On rare earths, Cooter noted, "We have one-third of all of the active projects outside of China taking place in Canada," while adding that Canada has established North America's first rare earth processing facility in Saskatchewan.

Strengthening Supply Chains and Exports

He said Canada is also accelerating approvals for mining and infrastructure projects to strengthen supply chains. "We're moving to get approvals done in about half the time or less than they were before. We're looking at one-year approvals for mines, for example, in British Columbia," he said.

The envoy also highlighted Canada's growing energy export capacity, including natural gas, LPG and oil, which could support India's energy security needs. "We will be able to produce and ship 50 million tons of natural gas within the next one to two years. We will be able to produce LPG for you," he said, adding that Canada is expanding infrastructure on its west coast to facilitate exports to Asian markets. (ANI)

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