Early-stage mineral prospecting could be key to Canada’s electric-vehicle ambitions, but it’s an industry that’s particularly susceptible to financial shocks.

When the pandemic hit, the industry encountered a funding gap that posed “important risks to Canada’s ability to seize opportunities related to the development of [the] critical-mineral value chain,” according to a government document obtained by The Logic. Advocates for the sector say the government was slow to react, and the country’s junior miners are still struggling for financing.