{
  "id": 8125840,
  "title": "Canada could gain billions from refining more metals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/canada-could-gain-billions-from-refining-more-metals",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-17T23:21:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mining.com",
    "slug": "mining-com",
    "url": "https://www.mining.com/canada-could-gain-billions-from-refining-more-metals/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Canada may stand to gain billions of dollars annually by refining more metals domestically, according to a report from the country's trade agency. Export Development Canada (EDC) estimates that a sustained shift toward more sophisticated exports could add up to C$98 billion ($70 billion) per year to the Canadian economy by 2035. This shift would involve exporting processed products instead of raw commodities, as selling complex products generates greater profits that compound over time. EDC emphasizes that expanding critical-minerals production alone will not yield the largest economic benefits unless Canada maintains processing, technology, and manufacturing at home. The report highlights rare earths, graphite, lithium, copper, and uranium as commodities with potential for more domestic value creation. The push for increased mining aligns with Canada's recent focus on mining and critical minerals at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, where banks pledged billions in resources financing, and Ottawa expanded investment tax deductions for mining. The report outlines the gap in value creation by examining the journey from resources to resilience, using examples such as Canadian companies moving from mining rare earths, graphite, and lithium to processing and refining products for electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, digital technology, and defense. For uranium, the transition from mining to nuclear fuel, reactor components, control systems, and services also generates higher value. The broader issue facing resource-rich economies like Canada and Australia is known as a \"commodity trap,\" where strong demand for raw materials can reinforce extraction while processing, technology, and manufacturing develop elsewhere. Canada risks falling into this trap if it doesn't build industries around mining. EDC describes Canada's economic complexity as ranking 35th globally in 2024, down from 17th in 1995, which has resulted in about 3% less growth in real GDP per person over a decade. The agency estimates that moving to products close to Canada's existing capabilities could add $53 billion to GDP by 2035, while a broader shift into more complex exports could add an additional $45 billion.",
  "summary": "A sustained shift into more sophisticated exports could add as much as $70 billion a year to the country’s economy by 2035, EDC said.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}