CRITICAL MINERALS
mineral deposits a lot more efficiently and a lot more effectively. It helps give that edge to advance some potential mineral exploration projects down the road.” Taken together, those pieces point to a broader Manitoba advantage. It is about more than the minerals themselves. It is about understand- ing the strategic importance of those resources, having the partnerships to develop them, the infrastructure to move them and the investment to bring projects forward. The opportunity is to bring those pieces together. With growing global demand for critical minerals and fertilizer, Manitoba has an opportunity to move beyond simply being a place where resources are found and become a province that helps develop, move and supply those resources to the world. “We're at the cusp of exciting things,” Suzuki says. For a province with the resources, people and partnerships to move forward, the question is no longer simply what lies underground. It is what Manitoba can build above it. ■
“Part of the economic architecture of mineral development is developing partnerships with Indigenous com- munities and a variety of junior mining companies or investors,” says Edward Suzuki, program manager for the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund. The Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF) is a $20-million provincial fund, administered by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, that provides funding for northern economic develop- ment and mining projects. “It's all about developing the province,” Suzuki says. “It’s not just ‘OK, we have minerals here, come and get it.’ It's the whole spectrum. We have the resources, but we also have the ability to showcase to global investors that Manitoba is a significant player. We have the capacity to move forward.” The MMDF also assists local companies to develop technology to assist with min- eral exploration, Suzuki says. “We’re finding new and more efficient ways of getting into the areas to survey because it's quite difficult to survey some of these places on foot,” he says. “So having drone technology and devel- oping that technology enhances stability to collect data and identify potential
Photo courtesy of MMDF
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WINTER 2026
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