Mining supplies the raw materials that every other sector depends on – and, increasingly, the critical minerals the energy transition itself runs on. Canada has over 200 active mines and 6,500 quarries, exporting over $125 billion in minerals in 2024. Its direct emissions are comparatively modest with 11 Mt of CO2e in 2022, a relatively stagnant value since 1990.
The sector’s decarbonization challenge is shaped by remote sites, sunk capital, and high up-front equipment costs. The advantage to the mining sector is in their mobile equipment – the largest on-site emissions source – which is replaced every 10 to 15 years. The core path to net zero is to electrify mine operations, supply them with renewable power, and modernize extraction and processing, complemented by recycling and recovery to keep materials in circulation. With the demand for battery- and defence-critical minerals set to grow, capturing the upside while meeting net zero and Indigenous partnership goals will mean front-loading low-carbon power and electric equipment as new mines are built.
Many mines rely on expensive, polluting diesel generators for power and equipment.
Electric equipment, processing plants, and net-zero energy supplies carry large initial costs.
The largest on-site emissions source with few decarbonization options.
Canada lacks a policy and regulatory framework to incentivize metal recovery and recycling.
More material must be processed per unit of mineral, raising energy use.
Unsettled Indigenous land claims can challenge development.
Managing disposal and the potentially toxic legacy of zero-emission technologies.
Rising mineral demand may deepen existing mine-site reclamation obligations.
Coal persists for steelmaking and fugitive methane will need offsets and worker/community transition.
Growing demand for minerals raises the sector's cumulative environmental footprint.
Proportion of mining equipment that is electric or fuel-cell.
Volume and value of recycled metals.
Number of mines connected to the electrical grid.
Electrification cuts volatile energy costs and reduces maintenance.
Supply the 34 critical minerals for the low-carbon transition and defence as demand grows.
Metal recycling and recovery, and re-mining legacy tailings for critical minerals, turn liabilities into value.
Scores are grounded in the sources cited throughout each sector assessment, then reviewed by experts and industry stakeholders to confirm how each pathway elements criteria are ranked.
economic viability score
Economic Viability description
