The Canadian federal government is set to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Teck Resources Ltd.’s Trail metals complex in British Columbia to enhance production of germanium, a critical metal used in defence and clean energy technologies. The announcement is scheduled for Tuesday and will be made by Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson in Trail, with Teck CEO Jonathan Price also present.

The funding will be allocated through multiple governmental bodies including Natural Resources Canada, the Canada Growth Fund, and Export Development Canada, according to sources familiar with the matter. Both Hodgson’s office and Teck declined to comment ahead of the formal announcement.

Located in the city of Trail in southern British Columbia, the Trail facility is one of the world’s largest integrated zinc and lead smelting operations. It also produces specialty metals such as germanium, indium, and antimony. The site has operated continuously since 1896 and has been under various owners, including American businessman Frederick Augustus Heinze, Canadian Pacific Railway, Cominco Ltd., and currently Teck, which acquired it in 2001. Approximately 1,400 employees work at the complex.

Teck’s Trail facility is the sole Canadian supplier of germanium dioxide to the United States, where germanium is used in fibre optics, infrared night-vision systems, and solar panels. The metal has gained heightened strategic importance following China’s 2024 ban on exports of certain specialty metals, including germanium and antimony, to the U.S. The ban, which Beijing cited as necessary for national security, raised concerns about supply shortages for both the clean energy and defence sectors. Although China temporarily suspended the export restrictions in late 2025, concerns over supply security remain, and the U.S. has prioritized diversifying its sources to allied countries like Canada.

Canada has intensified investments in its critical minerals sector over the past 18 months, driven by the government led by Mark Carney, seeking to reduce reliance on China and trade tensions with the U.S. Export Development Canada played a significant role last year by facilitating about C$8.7 billion in business related to critical minerals, an increase from C$7.9 billion in 2024. EDC has also increased its appetite for risk by supporting larger investments at earlier development stages, including a joint $459-million debt deal with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc.’s Quebec project.

Initial discussions about a federal investment in Trail were raised in early 2025 by former Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. He proposed a joint U.S.-Canada investment to help the U.S. reduce dependence on Chinese supplies. From 2021 to 2024, Canada supplied 17 percent of U.S. germanium imports, while China accounted for 23 percent, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Canada specializes in producing germanium dioxide, despite China’s larger share of global germanium metal production.

Teck has significantly improved Trail’s financial performance in recent years, reporting a gross profit of C$281 million in 2025 compared with a loss of C$66 million in 2024. The increase was driven by higher prices for germanium, indium, and silver, along with enhanced production of byproducts from processing stockpiled materials. Some of the germanium at Trail is produced as a byproduct of zinc mined at Teck’s Red Dog mine in Alaska.

In 2025, Teck agreed to a US$20-billion takeover by Anglo American PLC, a London-based mining company. The acquisition, approved by Ottawa later that year, included commitments to maintain employment levels in Canada and expand critical minerals processing at the Trail facility.

The federal investment into the Trail complex underscores Canada’s strategic effort to strengthen its role as a reliable supplier of defence-critical metals to North America, supporting broader efforts to secure supply chains amid global geopolitical uncertainties.