Canadian Province B.C. Looks into Establishing Copper Smelter to Boost its Economy

British Columbia, a Canadian province known for its vast coastline, diverse culture, mountains and rainforests, is looking into the potential of constructing a copper refinery and smelter. These developments come after Thomas Codrington, British Consul General in Vancouver, encouraged the province to expand its mining capabilities. 

In his statement, he argued that doing so would reassure partners like the United Kingdom by cutting dependence on outside refiners who had the power to dictate pricing. 

The provincial and federal governments seem to agree, having recently announced this past week that they’d be evaluating the feasibility and possible locations for a red metal processing facility. The assessment will focus on the viability of the facility and available options and will end in 2026, on January 28th. 

The province’s Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, Jagrup Brar, explained in a post on social media that setting up smelters in the region would add value to the minerals already mined. He added that it would also improve the resilience of the supply chain and support renewable energy and manufacturing applications. 

Furthermore, he noted, the critical metals sector was a national security matter and necessary for productions like AI chips, electric cars and mobile phones. 

Over 50% of the copper currently produced in the country comes from British Columbia. The country’s sole smelter of copper is in Quebec, with smelting operations in British Columbia having been halted in the 80s. 

Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining Director, Dr. John Steen, revealed that the primary reason Canada and other countries in the West contracted out mineral processing was environmental concerns. In a recent interview, he explained that China was handling the processing of the country’s minerals as they’d invested in large-scale facilities and turned that into a strategic advantage. 

Currently, the East-Asian nation controls over 66% of refining and processing capacity globally. This includes over 90% of rare earth minerals, which gives Beijing strong leverage in global negotiations. 

Developing a new copper processing plant in the province carries notable risks, including the same issues that prompted British Columbia to send its concentrate overseas for processing in the first place. An emerging risk is increased reliance on foreign refiners, which may leave the province vulnerable to volatile pricing and geopolitical pressure. 

Earlier this year, China introduced export restrictions on various rare earth minerals as a response to tariffs imposed by Trump’s government. During a territorial dispute with Japan over a decade ago, the country had reduced its rare earth exports to the country by 40%. 

Once the plans to establish a refinery in British Columbia are actualized, the copper resources that firms like Torr Metals Inc. (TSX.V: TMET) are engaged in exploring for could end up being processed locally and then exported to different markets around the world. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Torr Metals Inc. (TSX.V: TMET) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/TMET 

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