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The challenge: Assessing the strategic and commercial competitiveness of a Canadian copper-zinc project
Copper is essential for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and modernising electricity grids, while zinc enhances steel durability through galvanisation—a critical process for resilient infrastructure across energy, construction, and transportation sectors. As these metals become increasingly central to the energy transition, supply chain resiliency and security has emerged as a strategic concern. This urgency has intensified in the wake of recent tariff measures, which have further underscored the risks of overreliance on foreign supply chains.
The McIlvenna Bay Project offers a strategic and timely solution to the growing need for secure, domestic sources of Canadian critical minerals. With the potential to supply North American markets with responsibly sourced copper and zinc, the project is well-positioned to strengthen regional supply chains, reduce reliance on imports, and support the transition to a low-carbon economy, addressing the dual challenge of mineral security and clean energy demand.
Canada Growth Fund Inc. (CGF) is a C$15-billion arm's length and independent investment fund managed by Canada Growth Fund Investment Management Inc. (CGFIM), a subsidiary of PSP Investments. CGF's mandate is to build a financially prudent portfolio of investments that unlock private sector investment in Canadian businesses and projects to help grow Canada's economy at speed and scale on the path to emissions reductions, in the interest of remaining competitive globally over the longer term. CGF achieves this by using innovative financial instruments that absorb certain risks to unlock private investment in low-carbon projects, technologies, businesses, and supply chains. While considering an investment in Foran Mining, CGF retained Wood Mackenzie as an adviser to leverage its market analytics, conduct due diligence, and provide commercial advisory on the global copper and zinc landscape.
“CGFIM was pleased to leverage Wood Mackenzie's deep technical expertise to assess the our ability to form a well-grounded technical understanding of the investment opportunity.”
Canada Growth Fund Investment Management
Our approach: deliver expert commercial advisory and market due diligence based on proprietary data and in-depth analysis
Throughout the engagement, Wood Mackenzie's Metals and Mining Consulting Team, in collaboration with our Copper and Zinc subject matter experts (SMEs), worked closely with CGFIM to break down the global copper and zinc markets and assess the competitiveness of the McIlvenna Bay copper/zinc project.
The comprehensive analysis covered the following key topics:
- Industry Overview: Provided detailed breakdowns of the copper and zinc markets and value chains, including production methods and end-use products.
- Market Fundamentals: Analysed global and North American supply/demand dynamics for copper and zinc, including macroeconomic drivers, metal market balances, long-term price forecasts, and key market players.
- Concentrate Market Fundamentals: Assessed the balance between concentrate supply and demand, as well as treatment and refining charge (TCRC) trends.
- Competitive Analysis: Benchmarked McIlvenna Bay's expected cost and production metrics against regional and international peers, comparing C1 and All-in Sustaining Costs across start-up, ramp-up, and steady-state production phases.
- Product Marketability: Analysed the Project's concentrate quality, marketability, and product placement while assessing the Project's strategic role in the market.
- Risk Analysis: Identified key risks and opportunities associated with the Project based on foreign exchange fluctuations and commodity price sensitivity scenarios (upside and downside).
The result: CGF invests in Foran Mining
In May 2025, CGF agreed to participate in a C$350 million private placement with Foran Mining Corporation. As part of the investment, CGF subscribed to approximately 52 million common shares of Foran, committing around C$156 million. The proceeds will support the construction of Foran's McIlvenna Bay Project and advance exploration activities.