critical minerals

Fire An aerial view of the Attawapiskat River. Photo by Allan Lissner/Neskantaga First Nation.

What is the Ring of Fire?

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By: Saima Desai | In the far north of what’s currently known as Ontario, in an area covered by Treaty No. 9, lies the Hudson Bay Lowlands, an area roughly the size of Germany speckled with ponds, lakes, and rivers. Over thousands of years, plants growing in the waterlogged earth would die, never fully decomposing and instead becoming part of a rich, spongy layer of peat. Local First Nations call it the “breathing lands,” referring to the immense amounts of carbon that the peatlands absorb from the air. Rare and threatened plants and animals call the lowlands home: caribou, wolverine, and lake sturgeon.

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What's inside an EV battery, image by Lisa Ferguson

EV Batteries 101 and the Use of Nickel

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By: Isaac Thornley | While the anode is mostly made from graphite, the cathode comprises a range of minerals such as lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt. The cathode contains the greatest variety of minerals, is the most valuable part of the battery, and is a major determinant in the performance of the battery—including the energy storage capacity, duration of charge, and battery lifespan.

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Former Chief of Neskantaga First Nation, Peter Moonias, stands next to a declaration of Neskantaga’s homelands, which community members have posted throughout their traditional territory to advise prospectors and mining companies. Photo by Allan Lissner/Neskantaga First Nation.

The Biggest Gap in Ontario’s EV Battery Supply Chain: Indigenous Jurisdiction

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By: Isaac Thornley | In 2023, the federal and Ontario governments pledged historic subsidies to automakers—up to $13.2 billion to Volkswagen, $15 billion to Stellantis—to build EV battery plants in Canada. While the subsidies show a commitment to secure a fully domestic supply chain for EV batteries, there remain significant gaps. These include a lack of mineral refining capacity in Canada, a lack of infrastructure in mineral-rich regions (such as the Ring of Fire), and, in particular, a lack of recognition of the jurisdiction of Indigenous peoples and their capacity to provide or withhold consent. 

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Photograph of Neskantaga Territory by Allan Lissner

NEW REPORT: Greenwashing the Ring of Fire

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By: Saima Desai and Isaac Thornley | The Ontario government is positioning the province as the home of a continuous supply chain for EV batteries. Their hope is that by securing Indigenous consent for mining in the North and massively subsidizing battery factories in the South, the difficult and dirty middle links of the supply chain—like extraction, transportation, and refining—will become inevitable.

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