What if one of the biggest opportunities in critical minerals isn’t lithium, copper, or uranium — but a metal most investors still barely talk about?
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Scandium is used to strengthen aluminium alloys, with potential applications across transportation, aerospace, and other industries where lighter, stronger materials can make a real difference. And while global supply today largely comes as a byproduct from other mining operations, Scandium Canada (SXV:SCD, OTC:SCDCF) is positioning itself as a pure-play story in a market where dedicated supply remains extremely limited.
The company is also advancing two connected opportunities: its mine project in Quebec, and its patented aluminium alloy — a technology that could create value on its own, even before the mine is built.
I’m Ricki Lee, and joining me now on this episode of The Capital Compass to walk us through both sides of the story is Guy Bourassa, CEO of Scandium Canada.
Guy, great to have you with us.
Guy: Well, thanks for doing this.
Ricki: Thank you for being here with us. So Guy, for viewers who may be new to the company, can you give us the big picture overview of Scandium Canada and explain why scandium is becoming such an important metal right now?
Guy: Well, Scandium Canada is a junior exploration company that was formed in 2018 solely focusing on the development of a very large unique scandium project in Northern Quebec, Nunavik. We have a preliminary economic assessment that was completed in 2022, and we have updated our resource estimate in 2025, therefore we’re moving currently into the pre-feasibility stage of the project as we move forward. What’s more important or as important is the fact that in the meantime we also developed two specific aluminum scandium alloys amenable to 3D printing and advanced manufacturing. That’s a game changer.
Ricki: And one of the things that makes this story stand out is that scandium is still mostly produced as a byproduct from other mines, as I mentioned before, but you’re positioning Scandium Canada as a pure play. Why does that matter, especially as the market starts to focus more on supply security and the growing gap between supply and demand?
Guy: Well, it’s very important for the potential large end users, let’s say an airplane manufacturer that wants to develop its next generation of airplanes using aluminum scandium alloys. You need to be able to be supported by good chain of supply, reliable, long-term safe supply, which cannot be the case if you are getting your material as a byproduct of something else being mined. You’re at the mercy of the main product pricing. Therefore, it’s very important for the market to obtain long-term safe, reliable supply, which we do believe Scandium Canada’s Crater Lake Project will provide.
Ricki: And scandium has been getting a lot more attention from investors recently, particularly after Sunrise Energy’s run in Australia with Robert Friedland behind a major offtake deal with Lockheed Martin. How does what’s happening there validate the opportunity here at Scandium Canada and where do you see yourself positioned relative to that story?
Guy: It’s very interesting because we’ve been seeing for a long time now, a couple of years, all of the benefits, but the market was not listening, or we were not doing the proper communication. Friedland and Sunrise Energy coming and being more vocal about it, being listened to completely changed the perception. Now people are saying, oh gee, you are right, there’s a need for scandium. You know, we have done in 2022 a market analysis with EY trying to determine what is the latent potential market for aluminum scandium alloys, strictly aluminum scandium alloys, if and when reliable supply is available. And they came up with from zero to 2000 tons a year over a 20 year period. That’s the normal adoption rate so the fact that new plays come online and are being marketed, there’s no competition currently in the scandium world.
There’s a large need for allies because if you want to be able to confirm and reassure potential markets that there will be supply long term, you cannot be the only one, you cannot be two, you need three, four and geographically located around the world. So that’s why we welcome all good news coming out of any other place of scandium around the world. Funny enough, it reminds me of 2008, 2009 when people started to talk about lithium and nobody knew about lithium. Now in 2009, 2010 was burgeoning all over the place. People said, oh, I have lithium in my play. It’s exactly what we are currently living around the world. A lot of new projects say, oh, I have couple of ppms of scandium in my backyard, so let’s try to finance this thing. So, it’s going to be quite interesting in the next couple of months and years.
Ricki: So, from around the world all the way back to Quebec, can you tell us about where that project stands right now today and how do the recent funding activity and government grant help move the company toward a pre-feasibility study in the end of 2026 and a feasibility study at the end of 2027?
Guy: Well, it’s important for your viewers to understand that in Canada and in Quebec, but in Canada in general, there’s a good backup by the federal and provincial governments to accelerate the development of critical minerals and strategic minerals. As far as infrastructure acceleration grants and things like this, we were awarded a $7 million grant from the federal government in early March this year to be able to complete the methodological testing to the feasibility level.
So, a 24 month program that is funded at 70% by the federal government, non-dilutive, non-refundable, so that’s very good. At the same time, we launched a public offering, and we raised the $17.2 million in equity on this. So that gives us about $23 million cash for the next 24 months. So fully funded to complete the pre-feasibility study. Also complete all of the drilling to be able to get the mine representative sample to do the methodological test for the feasibility study. So we’re moving in the right direction and that is all supported by what we’re doing in parallel with our alloys. We’re currently having a lot of good feedback from end users saying, okay, what you say in the properties of your alloys, well, we’re interested. So that will support the financial model for the feasibility study. So, we are in a very good spot currently and very active, positively active on the project.
Ricki: And a major part of the story now is your patented aluminum alloy. In simple terms, what makes that process so valuable and why can that side of the business move ahead even without the mine being in production?
Guy: I was going to say it’ll move ahead of the mine. The reason is we were able to develop two specific alloys in the 5,000 and the 7,000 series that can be amenable and that are amenable to 3D printing and advance manufacturing. This is significant. What we’ve been able to achieve, and that’s why we’re able to file a patent application on this, is the fact that on the cooling period during the generation of your 3D printed part or your advance manufacturing, there’s no micro cracks or significant micro cracks being created in the cooling period that has not been achieved. So, the recipe we developed and the way it is structured makes it possible to do the primary structural part with advanced manufacturing with our powders.
In addition to the powders, that was the initial product we had developed, we are now currently qualifying the welding wires for the WAAM (weld arc added manufacturing). So, it’s very, very significant because it’ll open all sort of possibilities for the aerospace, in particular, using these powders. So with the feedback we have had currently with a lot of international potential end users we feel very, very comfortable that we’ll be able to advance this a lot more rapidly than the mine. And that’s good because then it will, like anything else, justify opening a long term supply in Quebec.
Ricki: Sounds like a very meaningful strategic advantage here because it gives you a path to commercial relevance that isn’t entirely dependent on mine development. How do you see that technology changing the overall shape of the company over time?
Guy: Interesting question. It will allow us to be proactive in the development of aluminum scandium alloys because now we have developed two, but with all of the work that we’re currently doing aside and understanding more the needs of large end users because now they’re opening their vision, they’re discussing with us because of what we’ve been able to achieve up to now. So, it helps us I would say create a new vision of development of aluminum scandium alloys.
Ricki: And so, looking ahead then over the next six to 12 months, what are the key milestones and catalysts that investors should be watching for, what’s going to make the story move forward?
Guy: Short term would be the confirmation of the qualification process with a couple of end users of both the powders and the welding wires. That I would say would be in the next quarter. We’re going to be doing a large diamond drilling campaign this summer to extract the material for the methodological test. So, it’s going to bring additional information on the size of the resource. And at the end of the summer, early fall, we’re going to be releasing a pre-feasibility study. So, within the next six or nine months, you’re going to see very, very positive; well at least good flow of news coming out of us.
Ricki: And just finally, Guy, developing a mine in Quebec means building strong relationships with local communities and the First Nations. How important is that piece of the story and how are you approaching it as the project advances?
Guy: With great respect, it is absolutely mandatory that you do have good relationships, openness and that you’re a good listener for First Nations and local communities around. So that the perceived view is that you’re somebody that is open to discussion, open to hearing comments, changing vision of certain things, and making sure that we’re all striving in the same direction, trying to have a long-term good relationship, healthy and with respect. As a matter of fact, I joined the company in January of 2024. Two months later, we already had signed the pre-development agreement with the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach in Nunavik. And this is very important, a year later they decided to invest their own money to get 5% of the company. So it was not given to them. They decided that it was worth making an investment.
They’re very satisfied with it. And as we moved the project forward, we need an access road to get to the mine, a very long access road, which we might not be able to justify for our single purpose. So, we decided to impart the Naskapi Nation to be the lead of a consortium to study the acceptability of a road, the path of the road, and work together with them to finance and have them finance and own the road and have us as a paid user on a tolling agreement. So it is definitively very significant for a junior company like us, but it’s also significant for everybody that says, if you want to be involved in the territory, you need to be speaking with the landowners and the users. So we did. Currently, it’s very positive and we absolutely will keep it that way.
Ricki: Guy Bourassa, CEO of Scandium Canada. Thank you so much for your time today.
Guy: My pleasure.
For more information, visit scandium-canada.com. I’m Ricki Lee, and this has been the Capital Compass. Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you again next time.
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