(Kitco News) - It's still early days for Canada's critical metal initiative, said Fireweed Metals CEO Brandon Macdonald.
Macdonald spoke to Kitco on Wednesday.
In April the Canadian government budgeted C$3.8 billion in cash plus extras in tax credits to support the critical minerals sector. The policy runs until 2030. Macdonald said there is hard legislative work that needs to be done to make permitting easier and start building infrastructure that will support remote mines.
"Canada talks a good game, [but] it's early. For me, the essential test will be the follow through," said Macdonald.
Fireweed Metals (CVE:FWZ) is advancing its 100%-owned, district-scale, 940-square-km Macmillan Pass project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits. Fireweed recently added two new projects, Mactung tungsten project straddling the Yukon and Northwest Territories border, and the company's recently staked Gayna River zinc-lead-gallium-germanium project in the Northwest Territories.
Fireweed is part of the Discovery Group, famous for Great Bear Resources, which was acquired by Kinross for US$1.4 billion (C$1.8 billion) last year. Macdonald sees upside for the metals Fireweed is focused on.
"Two things make for an exciting supply-demand balance for miners. That's either poor supply or great demand. The poor supply is a near universal story in base metals, because there has been a decade of chronic under investment," said Macdonald. "That creates more of a crisis the longer it goes on, so that is compelling for base metals."
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