Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy have forged a new partnership today, announcing a series of initiatives on defence, security, and critical minerals.
The Canada-Ukraine critical minerals initiative is focused on joint research, economic growth, and reconstruction in Ukraine. It also identifies new mineral opportunities and advances critical minerals production in Ukraine.
Carney also announced the launch of the Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace (DDIM) Supply Arrangement, ensuring the reliable and rapid supply of drones for the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard. Canada’s allies and partners will also receive access to nearly 400 trusted suppliers.
Contracts amounting to C$50 million ($50.5 million) have been awarded to push the growth in the amount of drones deployed by the Canadian Armed Forces by tenfold. This follows the country’s overall goal of ensuring that the Canadian industry is able to produce millions of drones over the next two years.
In addition to drone technology and partnership growth, Canada has pledged to provide strategic assistance to aid in Ukraine’s defence, with C$350 million going to critical air defence interceptors and C$23 million to directly bolster Ukraine’s security architecture.
Canada is also providing loans, guarantees, and additional funding support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s national Veteran Strategy, and towards families and communities impacted by the war.
Drone supply chains
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) outlined in a late 2025 report that, currently, all drone technologies rely on China for its technologies and materials, with carbon fibre, rare earth magnets, lithium-ion cells, and gallium-nitride chips coming from Chinese refineries.
The report by Katrina Schweiker, former Military Fellow, Defence and Security Department, notes that while most policy today focuses on the hardware and software for defence systems, it is the underlying chemistry and metallurgy that also needs to be part of supply chain security.
Schweiker identifies five strategic risks across the drone supply chain, underscoring how critical minerals networks — particularly those tied to defence infrastructure — are leaving nations exposed to significant vulnerabilities.
The first is in structural materials, including carbon fibre, aluminium-lithium, and titanium. Carbon fibre makes up the skeletal foundation of most drones and is generally produced in Japan, the US, and China from a polyacrylonitrile precursor.
In 2025, global production was around 150,000 metric tonnes. That number is expected to triple by 2030. However, aerospace-grade fibre capacity is limited and takes time to produce.
Also on the drone structures, aluminium-lithium and a specialised titanium allow for longer wingspan, greater fuel and munition margins, and other components like fasteners and landing gear.
The second strategic risk lies in the propulsion action, which relies on neodymium-iron-boron magnets for lift and torque. Around 90% of global magnet production still occurs in China.
For larger drones, their powerplants rely on aluminium-silicon-copper piston alloys, as well as steel or titanium valvetrain parts and magnesium casings.
The next strategic risk lies in the batteries themselves. Every kilowatt-hour of battery capacity requires 0.5 to 1kg of copper, aluminium, and graphite, with an additional tens to hundreds of grams of lithium, nickel, cobalt, or manganese.
Schweiker stresses that the checkpoint here is in the refining, not in mining. China still processes around two-thirds of the world’s lithium and more than 70% of its graphite anode material.
Schweiker also notes that the “brains and eyes” of drones rely on gallium-nitride power amplifiers and infrared detectors made from indium antimonide and mercury cadmium telluride. Again, production of these components is limited to a handful of facilities in the West.
Finally, what Schweiker calls the neglected risk is logistics and integration. Governments and defence departments generally lack the visibility in the materials supply chains, leaving them unable to anticipate bottlenecks or mitigate against disruptions when shocks occur.
Juniors step into defence supply chains
As governments sharpen their focus on securing defence-critical supply chains, the junior miners who are positioned at the upstream of the equation are increasingly part of strategic discussions and funding.
These companies are working to bring forward supplies of nickel, graphite, uranium, rare earths, and more — key metals that underpin defence technologies.
Avalon Advanced Materials (TSX:AVL) is advancing both rare earths and lithium projects, positioning itself as a strategic critical minerals platform across electrification, defence, digital infrastructure, and automation.
The company was recently selected to submit a proposal under Natural Resources Canada’s Critical Minerals Research, Development, and Demonstration (CMRDD) and Global Partnerships Initiative Program. It is seeking C$20 million to advance the Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Project toward a construction-ready engineering basis.
Avalon is working to demonstrate a Canadian processing pathway for separated rare earth oxides with Nechalacho.
The company is also advancing to become a significant North American lithium hydroxide refiner, positioning for first-stage production of 30,000 tonnes per year at LSLi in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Rapid Critical Metals (ASX:RCM) has recently received its BC Mines Act permit for the Prophet River Gallium-Germanium Project in British Columbia, Canada, as it ramps up toward a maiden drill program.
The drill program will validate and extend the 1987 Wolverine drill program which returned up to 380 grams per tonne germanium and 40 g/t gallium. Drilling will also define the mineralised areas in three dimensions and test the depth extension of the north-trending conductive zone.
Sampling at Prophet River in January 2026 confirmed ‘exceptional’ surface grades, with up to 763g/t germanium and 65.5g/t gallium, and 250g/t germanium and 121g/t gallium. Rapid Critical Metals says these results confirmed the ‘high-grade’ mineralisation across the project.
Another company advancing Canadian critical minerals is Lake Winn Resources (TSX-V:LWR), with a key focus on the wholly owned Little Nahanni Pegmatite Group (LNPG) Project in the Northwest Territories. Through the project, the company gains exposure to lithium, tantalum, and tin.
The company has reported a potential name change to better represent its main focus as a critical minerals focused company.
Lake Winn also plans to conduct drilling at LNPG in the coming months, testing the Alpha Prime target, a ‘high-priority’ pegmatite target that extends 7km in length and around 80 to 120m in width.
Libra Energy Materials (CSE:LIBR) holds a vast portfolio of projects across Canada and Brazil, acting as a prospect generator across lithium, rare earths, gallium, and graphite projects.
Libra is advancing projects across the key critical minerals needed for the energy transition, energy security, and defence infrastructure, with strong backing from KoBold Metals.
Canada’s push to secure defence-critical supply chains underscores the strategic role of junior miners in bridging upstream resources with downstream military technologies.
As Ottawa deepens partnerships abroad and accelerates domestic initiatives, companies advancing nickel, graphite, uranium, rare earths, lithium, and gallium projects are emerging as essential contributors to national security and allied resilience.
Their progress will determine how effectively Canada can build its defence infrastructure alongside its additional push for electrification, advanced manufacturing, and energy security — all of which require significant amounts of critical minerals inputs.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Main image: Unsplash
