Rio Tinto and Canada Growth Fund Inc. (CGF) have announced a transaction to advance Canadian production of scandium oxide in Rio Tinto’s Quebec facility.
CGF will invest C$25 million to support production at the facility under construction at Rio Tinto’s Critical Minerals and Metallurgical Complex. The investment will expand the facility’s nameplate capacity to nine tonnes per annum and strengthen Canada’s critical minerals supply chain.
CGF’s investment will be made through an equity-like financing structure. The Canadian government has also agreed to an offtake agreement with Rio Tinto where the government commits to purchase a volume of scandium. The government and Rio Tinto also agreed to a marketing and storage agreement, where Rio Tinto will assist in marketing and storing the scandium on behalf of the government.
Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium and Diamonds Managing Director Sophie Bergeron said: “Rio Tinto is pleased to partner with CGF and the Government of Canada to expand our Canadian production of scandium oxide, a high-performance material used for advanced manufacturing and energy generation.
“This project leverages an innovative process developed in Canada by our scientists, fully supplied from our domestic mining and metallurgical assets to provide a secure, North American supply of this critical mineral.”
Scandium is a rare and strategically important metal, essential for a wide range of new and emerging technologies. However, the global market for scandium remains small, with China producing most of the refined scandium globally.
Rio Tinto’s demonstration plant, which began production in 2022, currently accounts for the entirety of North America’s scandium supply.
Canada Growth Fund Investment Management President and CEO Yannick Beaudoin said: “With its unique investment mandate, CGF invests into innovative transaction structures that directly support projects of strategic priorities.
“This transaction, completed alongside an established operating partner, enables us to unlock new models for risk-sharing and value creation that advance Canada’s supply chain resilience strategy.”
Rio Tinto uses an innovative process to extract and produce high-purity scandium from the waste streams of titanium dioxide production at its Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium — Québec operations.
