Ontario Critical Minerals Forum Targets Midstream, Capital and Ring of Fire Execution in Toronto

Highlights

• More than 600 senior decision-makers will convene November 24–25, 2026 in Toronto to address financing, processing, and offtake for critical minerals.
• The forum spotlights the midstream gap—processing, refining, separation and conversion—as the key bottleneck in Western critical mineral supply chains.
• Neo Performance Materials CEO Rahim Suleman will share lessons on building an integrated rare-earth separation, processing and magnet manufacturing chain in Europe.
• Downstream buyers from automotive, battery and defence sectors will outline what makes Canadian critical mineral supply commercially attractive to allied nations.
• Sessions also cover the Ring of Fire, Indigenous co-development, permitting reform, lithium conversion and transmission infrastructure.

Ontario is trying to turn mineral wealth into industrial power. On November 24–25, 2026, the Ontario Critical Minerals Forum (opens in a new tab) will convene more than 600 senior decision-makers at Toronto’s Marriott Downtown at CF Eaton Centre, connecting mining companies, First Nations, governments, investors, processors and downstream buyers. The agenda moves beyond exploration toward the harder questions: Who finances the mines, who builds the processing capacity, and who buys the output?

REEx Insight | The Midstream Moves Center Stage

For Rare Earth Exchanges®, the most consequential session may be “Addressing the Midstream Gap.” The organizers explicitly identify processing, refining, separation and conversion as the critical bridge between mineral resources and secure Western supply chains—and describe midstream as the key bottleneck.

That framing matters. Canada possesses extraordinary geology, but Great Powers Era 2.0™ will reward countries that convert resources into qualified industrial materials—not merely ship concentrates overseas. Ontario already has mining, smelting, infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities. The challenge is connecting those assets into commercially competitive supply chains.

Rare earths receive specific attention. Neo Performance Materials (opens in a new tab) President and CEO Rahim Suleman (opens in a new tab) will discuss building an integrated European chain spanning rare-earth separation, processing and magnet manufacturing, including lessons around feedstock, financing and customer qualification.

From Ring of Fire to the Factory Floor

Other sessions tackle the Ring of Fire, Indigenous co-development, strategic capital, permitting reform, lithium conversion, brownfield mines, transmission infrastructure and downstream procurement. Speakers include Ontario Minister Greg Rickford, First Nations leaders, representatives from Glencore Canada, Canada Nickel, Electra Battery Materials, Mercedes-Benz, PowerCo Canada, Canada Growth Fund and the Department of National Defence.

The downstream-buyer panel is particularly important: automotive, battery and defence customers will address allied-country processing and what makes Canadian supply commercially attractive. The test for Ontario is no longer whether it has critical minerals. It is whether it can build the infrastructure, processing capacity, financing structures and Indigenous partnerships necessary to turn geology into industrial sovereignty.

Ontario Critical Minerals Forum — Event, Agenda & Registration (opens in a new tab)