Canada is preparing to put as much as $400 million into Teck Resources’ Trail Operations as per an agreement between the firm, Canada Growth Fund, and Natural Resources Canada’s Canada Critical Minerals Accelerator. The move aims to support expanded production capacity for germanium, gallium and antimony at Teck’s Trail smelting and refining complex in BC.
The public investment would be part of Teck’s potential $850 million plan to sustain and expand critical minerals processing at the site.
Canada Growth Fund said the agreement establishes a commercial framework for an “equity-like investment” of up to $400 million directly into the Trail facility. The agreement also includes an offtake structure that would give the Government of Canada rights to a portion of future germanium, antimony, and gallium production.
Sponsored · Selkirk Copper Mines
The agreement is expected to be the first transaction under the Canada Critical Minerals Accelerator, a $2 billion program introduced in Budget 2025 to make strategic investments through equity, debt and offtake contracts. The accelerator is an NRCan initiative managed by Export Development Canada.
Trail gives Ottawa a rare industrial platform. Canada Growth Fund described the site as one of the world’s largest fully integrated polymetallic smelting and refining complexes, producing 19 products. The agreement could double Trail’s existing production capacity for germanium and antimony and potentially add new gallium production capacity.
The metals are small in volume but large in strategic value. Germanium is used in fiber optics, infrared optics, and semiconductor technologies. Antimony is used in flame retardants, batteries, and alloys. Gallium is used in high-performance semiconductors for telecommunications, radar, and next-generation electronics.
Reuters reported that Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the structure would operate like facility-specific equity because there is no tradable equity in the Trail asset itself. Its value would move with production, according to his explanation. It also reported that Hodgson said the investment would allow Teck to increase output and let Canada share critical minerals with alliance partners.
The China exposure is the pressure point. Reuters reported in 2024 that China had banned exports to the US of gallium, germanium, and antimony after new US chip-sector restrictions, with Project Blue estimating China accounted for 59.2% of refined germanium output, 98.8% of refined gallium production and 48% of globally mined antimony. China later suspended the US-specific ban, but broader licensing controls remained. That explains why Ottawa is using offtake rights, not just funding.
Teck framed the deal as both strategic and shareholder-relevant. CEO Jonathan Price said the initiative could “quickly and significantly increase production capacity” for key metals while strengthening secure supply chains. He also said the plan has potential to deliver new supply while providing “strong returns for Teck shareholders.”
This comes following Teck’s announced merger with Anglo American last year.
