Ontario's mining sector caught up in tariff uncertainty

Ontario's mining industry association says it's unclear whether the latest 30-day reprieve on U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods will apply to the province's minerals.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Canadian and Mexican goods that are "compliant" with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) would not face 25 per cent tariffs in his country until April 2.

Priya Tandon, the president of the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), said the province's mineral trade with the U.S. falls under a different agreement, which makes the situation more uncertain.

"We're still trying to find out more details," she told CBC News on Friday.

"And regardless, given that things are changing by the hour… it's just important that we continue to push to strengthen at home first."

The OMA  says that in 2023 Ontario's mineral exports were valued at $64 billion. Fifty-seven per cent of those exports went to the United States, at a value of $42 billion.

But that makes the mining industry less reliant on the U.S. than some other sectors. More than 90 per cent of Canada's steel exports, for example, go south of the border.

A recent report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce listed Sudbury as Canada's most resilient bigger city in the face of U.S. tariffs, because its mineral exports are destined to a wide number of countries.

"I think it's a reflection of just how diverse the sector is with a diverse range of resources, whether it's gold or base metals, iron, platinum, group metals," Tandon said.

Critical minerals bargaining chip

In an interview with CBC's Front Burner, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said critical minerals are the country's most important bargaining chip in the face of U.S. tariffs.

"While energy, potentially, is a card, I actually think the even more dramatically useful card is critical minerals," Wilkinson said.

"The Americans need a whole range of those from us."

Tandon said, for example, that the U.S. only has one nickel mine, located in Michigan.

"In 2022 ... the US imported 130,000 tonnes of nickel, 70 per cent of which was refined in Sudbury at Vale operations," she said.

Nickel is a critical mineral and is an important component in the production of stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries.

Without supply from Canada, the U.S. would need to rely more on countries like China and Russia for certain critical minerals.

Tandon said the OMA is asking the provincial government to declare the mining sector a strategic priority.

"That will help us build more mines and streamline permitting and provide more clarity on consultation and hopefully provide a lot more investment in the upstream mining and processing side of the supply chain, which is something that we need to continue to see," she said.

Gold less impacted by tariffs

Some minerals are also more shielded than others in the face of U.S. tariffs.

Bryan Wilson is the vice-president and general manager of the Côté Gold Mine, located near Gogama, in between Sudbury and Timmins.

"We actually sell to a third party in Canada. So we don't actually export ourselves," he said.

Wilson said the trade war between Canada and the U.S. will affect the mine's operating costs, however, since they purchase some equipment and chemicals from American suppliers.

The mine's fleet of autonomous trucks to haul ore, for example, is made by Caterpillar, an American heavy equipment manufacturer.

Wilson said the mine is looking to work with more Canadian suppliers in the face of tariffs.

He added that current gold prices, at around $4,172 per ounce, provide some relief from rising operational costs.

"You don't want to let those costs get out of control either," he said. "But yeah, the price of gold is certainly helping us right now."