Okay besties, let’s talk about a mining deal that actually caught my attention this week.
So Critical One Energy just signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Solar International Core Canada (SICC), a strategic investment and operating firm, and honestly? This one has some layers worth unpacking — especially if you’ve ever wondered how critical minerals, geopolitics, and your investment watchlist all connect.
Here’s the headline news: Critical One is now positioned as a co-development partner in building a Canadian critical minerals supply chain. And this isn’t just a handshake deal with vibes — the MoU brings some serious money to the table. We’re talking C$25 million of strategic capital, a construction financing facility of C$400 million, and a future antimony offtake agreement, all tied to the company’s flagship Howells Lake antimony-gold project in northwestern Ontario.
Let me break down the players, because who does what matters. SICC steps in as the principal capital and offtake partner — basically the money and the buyer. Northlink Development Group will develop and manage the planned antimony processing facility. And Critical One? They get to wear two hats: future antimony feedstock supplier from Howells Lake AND a carried equity partner in the processing facility itself.
That second hat is the part I want you to really sit with. This is why I tell my coaching clients to look beyond the surface of any deal: getting paid only when you dig something out of the ground is one income stream. Getting a carried stake in the facility that processes that material? That’s participating in the value-added side of the chain. It’s the difference between selling your homemade cookies to a bakery versus owning a slice of the bakery. Same cookies, very different economics.
Marc Kealey, vice chairman of SICC, framed it exactly that way, calling the collaboration a decisive step toward closing critical vulnerabilities in North American critical minerals supply chains. His point: by integrating upstream Canadian feedstock with domestic refining infrastructure, the partnership creates an integrated, value-added supply ecosystem that keeps economic benefits, processing intellectual property, and high-skilled jobs inside Canada. And because of that, SICC is keen and proud to act as the principal capital partner accelerating the initiative. Translation: this is about Canada wanting its own supply chain instead of depending on elsewhere — and there’s real strategic money chasing that goal.
Now, the offtake agreement itself allows for the purchase of up to 150 million pounds of future antimony production from Howells Lake, at international benchmark prices. Benchmark pricing means they’re not locking into some discounted rate — future sales would be at market rates, which matters when you’re projecting what a mine could actually earn.
But here’s where I need to put on my responsible-friend hat. Future production is not guaranteed, and Howells Lake does not have an NI 43-101 compliant resource. If you’re newer to investing, that last part is a big deal. An NI 43-101 is the independent, standards-based verification that a mineral deposit actually contains what a company says it contains. Without one, you’re essentially trusting the geological story so far rather than a fully vetted resource estimate. It doesn’t make the project bad — it makes it early. And early-stage means higher risk alongside higher potential upside.
Here’s what I’d do if this landed on my watchlist: I’d treat it as a speculative position, not a core holding. The financing commitments and offtake structure are genuinely meaningful steps — companies don’t line up C$400 million construction facilities for projects nobody believes in — but the path from promising geology to producing mine is long, and plenty of things can change between here and there. Position sizing is everything. This is the kind of story you might follow with money you can afford to watch ride the rollercoaster, not your emergency fund, not your rent, not the down payment you’ve been saving for.
One more thing I appreciated: Duane Parnham, executive chairman and CEO of Critical One, said that being positioned as a strategic co-development partner — with returns from processing as well as mining — elevates the company’s growth strategy. He noted the team is advancing its geological results into a development plan that returns benefits directly to shareholders and the Eabametoong First Nation community. That community angle isn’t just PR fluff either: Howells Lake sits in the homelands of the Eabametoong First Nation, in the Thunder Bay Mining Division, roughly 120 kilometres west of the Ring of Fire access corridor in northwestern Ontario. Projects that build genuine partnerships with the communities on whose land they operate tend to have smoother roads ahead — that’s just practical reality in modern mining.
And why does antimony keep showing up in headlines? Because it’s a critical mineral — governments across North America are actively working to secure domestic supply of materials considered strategically essential. When policy priorities and private
