The Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario has become a key figure in the battle to control critical minerals, which experts say is the heart of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
While a remote Ontario peat bog may not be the stage that first comes to mind when picturing the geopolitical conflict, the critical minerals beneath it are essential to renewable energy and digital technology.
Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire is a crescent-shaped mineral deposit that has been eyed as a critical source for Ontario’s burgeoning electric vehicle battery industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump is now eyeing Canada’s rich mineral deposits as America can’t produce enough of its own, said Elizabeth Steyn, an assistant law professor at the University of Calgary.
The Ring of Fire contains minerals, including nickel, chromium, palladium and platinum, said Steyn, who teaches a course on critical minerals, regulatory frameworks and geopolitics. These minerals are highly appealing to the U.S.
“They are important in terms of not only the energy transition, but the digital transition and also national security,” Steyn said.
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