Canadian Mining Enters 2026 With Confidence as Gold, Copper and Critical Minerals Redefine the Sector

By Peter Kennedy

After what may be regarded as a pivotal year for the Canadian mining sector, industry officials see every reason to be optimistic about 2026 and beyond.

Demand for critical minerals such as copper, nickel, graphite and lithium is still expected to grow by at least 71% by 2030, driven by the long-arc of the global clean-energy transition, said Pierre Gratton, former President and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada. While conceding that the clean-energy transition is facing headwinds, he said the case has been made by former BHP Billiton Ltd. [BHP-NYSE] CEO Mike Henry and others that, population growth and urbanization alone will support growing demand for mined products for decades.

“With gold prices soaring and projected to climb even further, the growth of Canada’s gold sector over the past 15 years has been a godsend, Gratton said. “Did you know, for example, that the value of our gold exports now eclipses the value of our auto vehicle sector? Gold production has increased more than 30% over the past decade with more mines coming on online this year and next, moving Canada up in the global rankings to fourth place.”

Meanwhile, the imposition of punitive tariffs by the Trump Administration in the U.S. has changed the way that metals and minerals are perceived. They are no longer viewed as just commodities, rather they are seen as instruments of national strategy and security.

“It is because of this that our sector is one of the very few largely exempt from tariffs, and I do not expect this to change,’’ Gratton said during a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.

It is worth noting that 2025 was a year when mining featured prominently in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s list of nation building projects. The list includes the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project in Saskatchewan and the expansion of the Red Chris Mine in northwestern British Columbia.

McIlvenna Bay and Red Chris are two of five projects that are expected to generate more than $60 billion for the Canadian economy and create tens of thousands of high-paying careers for our workers,’’ said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Added to the list are the Sisson Mine (Northcliff Resources Ltd [NCF-TSX] and Todd Minerals Ltd. of New Zealand) for critical minerals in New Brunswick, Canada Nickel Company Inc.’s [CNC-TSXV] Crawford Nickel project in Ontario, and the Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. [NOU-TSXV, NMG-NYSE] Phase 2 project in Quebec.

Red Chris is held 30% by Imperial Metals Corp. (III-TSX) and 70% by Newmont Corp. [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE].

The northern B.C. mine is undergoing a fast-tracked expansion shifting from open pit to block-cave mining. This involves ore being mined by collapsing the rocks from above the tunnels below. “Because Newmont’s expertise in block-caving allows mining at deeper levels, we can access more of the orebody and increase the longevity of the Red Chris mine, Newmont has said. An investment decision is expected as early as 2026.

It has estimated that the new mining method would extend the mine’s lifespan by 13 years, beyond its forecasted end of life in 2027, and boost Canada’s copper production by 15%.

However, it should be noted that changes to the Red Chris mine can only be made with the consent of the Tahltan Nation. The change to the mining method would also require an update to the mine’s environmental assessment certificate.

Foran Mining Corp. [FOM-TSX, FMCXF-OTCQX] said its McIlvenna Bay (volcanogenic massive sulphide) project in Saskatchewan remains on schedule for commercial production in mid-2026.

The Mining Association of British Columbia said it was pleased to see the North Coast Transmission Line added to the Major Projects Office (MPO) portfolio which it said will enable a generational opportunity to develop critical mineral and precious metal projects in Northwest and Central B.C. to provide $46 billion in economic activity, thousands of well-paying jobs, and much needed government revenue.

Meanwhile, on the underlying metals front, 2025 was a year when copper had joined silver and gold as a safe haven asset for investors wanting to hedge against the falling value of the U.S. dollar.

As one of the main beneficiaries of the “electrification if everything”, copper has soared by more than 35% in value this year, spurred by U.S. tariff uncertainty and concerns about mining disasters that could restrict supply.

Copper surged to a fresh record close of US$13,000 a ton in volatile trading as the London Metal Exchange reopened on December 29, 2025, extending a stunning year-end rally, fueled by concerns over tighter supply. The latest surge caps an extraordinary year for copper, which is headed for its best showing since 2009. The rally has been marked by significant unplanned mine outages, uncertainties over U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, and unprecedented pressure on the world’s smelters. LME prices advanced by well over 10% in December as investors bet that a rush to get the metal to the U.S. ahead of possible import tariffs will leave the rest of the world short of metal.

It an expected increase in demand for copper that drove the merger of equals involving Teck Resources Ltd. (TECK.B-TSX, TECK.A-TSX, TECK-NYSE) and South African giant Anglo American Plc [LON-AAL], a move that has received regulatory approval from the Canadian Government under the under the Investment Canada Act (ICA)

Anglo American and Teck have said they believe that the formation of Anglo Teck in a $50 billion all share merger will provide exceptional and enduring benefits for Canada, founded upon establishing a global critical minerals champion headquartered in Canada.

However, in order to secure the approval of the Canadian Government, Anglo American and Teck have agreed to binding commitments with the Government of Canada under ICA. For example, the name of the combined global business will be Anglo Teck, and that the global headquarters will be in Canada, where a significant majority of Anglo Teck’s senior management will be based.

The agreement calls for the company to spend at least $4.5 billion in Canada within five years, including in connection with the Highland Valley Copper mine life extension, enhancing critical minerals processing in Trail, B.C. and advancing the Galore Creek and Shaft Creek copper projects in northwestern B.C. The Highland Valley Mine Life extension, requires an investment of approximately $2.1-$2.4 billion.

Anglo Teck has also agreed to establish and fund a Global Institute for Critical Minerals Research and Innovation – hosted and an involving leading institutions in Canada, South Africa and the U.K., and invest in mining-related skills training by leveraging partnerships with Indigenous skills training programmes and Canadian-post secondary institutions.

Such expenditures will enable Anglo Teck to spend at least $10 billion in Canada over 15 years.

The record high silver price recently prompted a warning from Elon Musk that manufacturers could suffer the consequences.  Silver rose sharply during December, 2025, part of a precious metals rally that also pushed gold and platinum to record levels on Boxing Day, 2025. Analysts have attributed the jump in prices to expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026, leading to increased demand for hard assets to protect against inflation and currency debasement. New restrictions on silver exports from China, which begin on January 1, 2026, have created supply fears while geopolitical worries have lifted demand for safe-haven assets. Silver hit US$79 an ounce for the first time on Boxing Day, a new peak, up from $56 at the start of December and just US$29 an ounce at the start of 2025. “This is not good. Silver is needed in many industrial processes,’’ Musk posted on his social media platform X. Uses for the metal include in electrification, solar power panels, electric vehicles and data centres., all areas in which demand has been rising, eating into silver inventories.

The price of gold has jumped above US$4,400 an ounce, up more than 70 % since the beginning of January, 2025. It’s no surprise then that eight of the S&P/TSX Composite Index’s top-10 performers in 2025 were gold producers, and their gains pushed the index up 27 per cent for the year. Among the winners was Discovery Silver Corp. [DSV-TSXV, DSVSF-OTCQX], a company that transformed itself with its acquisition of the Porcupine complex near Timmins, Ont., from Newmont, adding Canadian gold-mining assets to its portfolio.

In a letter to shareholders Nicola Mining Inc. [NIM-TSXV] CEO Peter Espig said the rising price of precious metals proved to be a catalyst for many juniors, which saw significant value accretion in share prices.

Tudor Gold Corp. [TUD-TSXV, TUC-Frankfurt], now has the financial strength to press ahead with development of its Treaty Creek project in B.C. after recently closing two financings in a single month.  They included a flow-through financing for gross proceeds of $13 million and a non-flow through financing for gross proceeds of $11.5 million.

On Christmas Day, the state-owned miner Jiangxi Copper said it had acquired all the shares of London-listed firm Solgold [SOLG-TSX, LSE] for US$1.2 billion, allowing it to take control of the Cascabel gold and silver mining operation run by SolGold in Ecuador.