Scandium Canada’s steady rise in the critical minerals landscape illustrates how a once-obscure metal could become essential to advanced manufacturing and stronger, more resilient supply chains. In a discussion with InvestorNews.com host and Hallgarten + Company Analyst Christopher Ecclestone, Guy Bourassa, CEO and Director of Scandium Canada Ltd. (TSXV: SCD) explained why scandium—still unfamiliar to most beyond specialist sectors—warrants broader attention for its role in creating lighter, stronger aluminum alloys with meaningful promise in aerospace and other high-performance industries.
Bourassa explained that the company’s Crater Lake project in northeastern Québec represents not just another deposit, but “the only primary source of scandium currently being worked around the world,” a distinction that matters to end users who want reliable future supply rather than by-product scraps from nickel or titanium mines. He underscored the momentum behind infrastructure and study milestones, noting that the market’s interest “reflected well” on the company as it moves toward key development phases.
One of the centrepieces of their discussion was logistics and community partnership. Bourassa described how Scandium Canada recently secured an agreement with the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach that involves building a permanent access road from Schefferville to the project site—a move that “completely changed the logistics of the project” and, he hopes, could be funded through federal support. This, he said, would dramatically reduce capital requirements and enable a hydrometallurgical plant to be located closer to the mine, decreasing transport costs and environmental footprint.
When pressed on government support beyond federal grants, Bourassa highlighted active discussions with provincial stakeholders and entities such as Québec’s northern development initiatives, aligning with broader plans to open up the Labrador Trough region for responsible resource development. This regional support aligns with Scandium Canada’s technical progress, including milestones highlighted in its 2025 annual review—such as the updated mineral resource estimate for the TG Zone and the successful completion of a 500-kilogram metallurgical pilot test that advances process validation and reduces technical risk.
Scandium’s broader market context also came into focus. Bourassa addressed narratives about supply commitments, arguing that recent agreements for Canada to build a scandium stockpile on behalf of G7 allies—including arrangements to purchase material from Rio Tinto—reflect strategic positioning rather than market restriction. He noted that this stockpile could help support Scandium Canada’s own alloy development efforts by ensuring material availability for pre-commercial testing. This resonates with the company’s efforts to develop its own aluminum-scandium alloys, particularly 5000 and 7000 series formulations, which Bourassa described as breakthroughs in avoiding micro-cracks during advanced manufacturing—a key hurdle for aerospace and structurally demanding applications.
On the topic of these alloys, Bourassa said the company has engaged with major players in metals and manufacturing who reached out after reading about Scandium Canada’s technical results, indicating significant interest if the alloys perform as described. This interest dovetails with the company’s recent moves to establish a dedicated Scandium+ division focused on advancing research and development of aluminum-scandium powders for additive manufacturing and identifying high-value markets such as aerospace, automotive, and 3D printing.
Throughout the interview, Bourassa emphasized the technical and logistical groundwork driving Scandium Canada’s progress — from federal and provincial support to collaboration with the Naskapi Nation and the path to a mid-2026 pre-feasibility study.
In framing Scandium Canada’s journey, Bourassa did not shy away from the challenges: securing funding for the roughly $20 million Canadian budget to complete a full feasibility study, ensuring long-term supply in an environment where 75% of scandium production comes from China, and building out industrial partnerships that can help bring end products to market. Yet the technical achievements and strategic alliances he described paint a picture of a company methodically advancing a project with both industrial and geopolitical relevance.
His comments suggest a future where scandium’s role in lightweighting and advanced alloys might finally catch up with its promise—and where Scandium Canada, with one of the world’s most significant primary scandium resources, aims to be more than a footnote in the story of critical minerals.
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