Why critical minerals matter: 5 things you need to know

Critical minerals are key to Canada’s clean energy transition—and your daily life

By Carolyn Ali

You may have heard a lot about critical minerals in the news lately. Everyone seems to want them… and BC and Canada has them.

But what are critical minerals, exactly, and why do they matter to you?

For starters, we need critical minerals to make technology like smartphones run and to build lithium-tellurium batteries to power things like electric cars. Critical minerals are essential for Canada’s clean energy transition and necessary for technology such as wind turbines. Copper transports electrical power, and in 2019, the World Bank anticipated that to meet our global energy demands, we need as much copper in the next 25 years as has been mined in the last 5,000 years.

Many critical minerals are rare and in high demand, explains Dr. Nadja Kunz in the video above. We need mining to get them—and sustainable, responsible mining is critical.

Dr. Kunz is an associate professor at UBC with the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Norman B Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, as well as a Canada Research Chair in Mine Water Management and Stewardship. She works with UBC researchers across fields as diverse as science and law to advance a more sustainable future for critical minerals.

Watch this video to better understand the role of critical minerals in your daily life—and the future of energy.

Carolyn Ali is a writer for UBC Brand and Marketing. This article was published on July 25, 2025. Feel free to republish the text of this article and/or the video, but please follow our guidelines for attribution.