British Columbia’s critical minerals push faces delivery test: PwC

Canada’s British Columbia and the Yukon risk losing ground in the global critical minerals race unless they can accelerate mine construction, power infrastructure and permitting as demand shifts from commodity cycles to strategic supply security, a new PwC report shows. 

Metallurgical coal accounted for less than half of BC mining revenue last year, down from just over 60% in 2023, while copper’s share rose to 25% from 19%, according to PwC Canada’s BC Mine 2025 report. The study said industrial policy, defence priorities and energy security are increasingly shaping demand for critical minerals rather than traditional price cycles alone.

“The economics of mining are changing,” Mark Patterson, BC mining leader at PwC Canada, said in the report. “For critical minerals in particular, demand is no longer just price driven. It’s being shaped by security of supply and industrial policy.”

The shift is strengthening the investment case for BC and the Yukon as governments move to streamline approvals and developers deepen Indigenous partnerships tied to revenue sharing, equity ownership and infrastructure participation.

Ottawa has prioritized projects including Newmont’s (NYSE: NEM) Red Chris, LNG Canada Phase 2 and the North Coast Transmission Line, while Skeena Gold + Silver (TSX: SKE) (NYSE: SKE) secured approval earlier this year for its open-pit gold and silver project through a substituted BC-led assessment developed with the Tahltan Nation.

PwC said northern infrastructure constraints remain among the largest barriers to growth, particularly in the Yukon and northwest BC, where transmission expansion and corridor-based planning could lower development costs for multiple deposits.

The report concludes that the region’s long-term competitiveness will depend less on approvals than on whether projects can consistently move into production ahead of rival jurisdictions such as the US and Australia.