In this episode, APF Canada’s Canada-Indo-Pacific Critical Minerals Hub’s key advisor and John H. McArthur Research Fellow, Pascale Massot, sits down with Muhammad Imran, Chief Technical Officer and Vice-President of the Rare Earth Element Division at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). Imran is leading the development of the first fully integrated, commercial-scale rare earth processing facility in Canada, and North America, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2027.
Together, they unpack why domestic rare-earth processing capability is critical to Canadian and foreign supply chains. Imran discusses SRC’s research on Canada’s critical mineral base, and strategies for divesting from China's rare-earth dominance while navigating the environmental challenges that continue to hold back partners and allies from scaling up their own processing. He also sheds light on what the success of SRC-developed processing tech could mean for Canada's downstream manufacturing, particularly its burgeoning EV industry, and the broader supply chain resilience of Canada and its partners.
