The Canadian government has agreed to contribute up to C$400 million to Teck Resources Ltd.'s plans to expand output at its Trail zinc-and-lead smelter in British Columbia.

This investment, part of the Canada Growth Fund's equity-like approach, aims to secure a portion of future supply for critical minerals like germanium, antimony, and gallium.The deal comes after Teck's merger with Anglo American Plc, which created a $50 billion metals giant focused on copper in Chile and Peru.Both companies committed C$850 million to Trail operations and plans to enhance processing capacity for strategic metals.The investment is the first under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Critical Minerals Accelerator initiative, managed by Export Development Canada.

This move aligns with broader efforts to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains for critical minerals essential to national defense and economic security.Officials emphasized collaboration between nations to identify strategically important minerals, though specific commodities remain undisclosed.Canada has already begun stockpiling graphite and scandium through agreements with Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc.and Rio Tinto Group.