More Critical-Mineral Projects Are Moving Forward. The Next Challenge Is Making the Process Work.

Canada is accelerating investment in critical minerals, but opening a mine is only part of the challenge.

The material still has to be crushed, mixed, processed and handled reliably.

In 2026, the Government of Canada announced more than $3.6 billion in new programs and investments aimed at moving critical minerals from mine to market. This included support for 22 projects focused on planning, development and processing capacity. Canada

More recently, the Canada Critical Minerals Accelerator announced support for an expansion of Teck Resources' Trail Operations in British Columbia. The potential investment of up to $850 million is intended to expand processing capacity for minerals including germanium and antimony and potentially add gallium production. Canada

For mining and mineral-processing operations, this growth creates a very practical question:

Is the processing equipment ready for the material?

Processing problems often start with the material

A process that works at laboratory scale can behave very differently when production increases.

Material may become difficult to mix uniformly. Abrasive feed can accelerate wear on liners, paddles and other components. Crusher parts may need replacement more frequently than expected. A new formulation may require testing before full-scale production equipment is selected.

These aren't necessarily reasons to replace an entire process.

Sometimes the solution is a better mixer, different wear material, improved component or alternative source for a critical spare part.

Where Bourdin Industrial can help

Bourdin Industrial works with mining, mineral-processing and R&D organizations to investigate practical equipment and sourcing solutions.

Our capabilities include industrial and laboratory mixing equipment, polyurethane wear components, crusher and mining wear parts, castings and globally sourced replacement components.

For development work, laboratory mixing equipment can also allow organizations to test formulations and processing conditions before committing to larger production systems.

For operating plants, we can investigate replacement components using an existing drawing, OEM part number, equipment model, material specification or sample part.

Don't wait for production to expose the weak point

Canada's current critical-minerals strategy is increasingly focused not only on extraction but also on processing and getting material to market. The federal First and Last Mile Fund alone provides up to $1.5 billion through 2030 for mining and infrastructure projects, including infrastructure enabling mineral processing. Canada

As projects move from development toward production, equipment reliability becomes increasingly important.

The deposit gets the project started. The process makes it productive.

If your operation is dealing with a mixing challenge, excessive component wear or a difficult-to-source industrial part, Bourdin Industrial can help investigate the available options.