The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced that the G7 is set to launch a Canada-led critical minerals pact aimed at combatting market manipulation from China. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that the announcement will take place on Friday during the G7 energy and environment ministers' meeting in Toronto. This pact will build on the G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance, which Prime Minister Mark Carney promoted in June, and is designed to strengthen supply chains for the defence and technology sectors. Mr. Hodgson noted that the agreement will benefit specific mining companies and processing facilities across the G7. Mr. Hodgson is mum on specific projects or companies that will benefit from the agreement, but he indicated that rare earths, a subset of critical minerals, will be one focus. Canada is a global leader in some critical minerals such as uranium, potash and nickel, but is a bit player in others used in low carbon energy, such as lithium, graphite and cobalt. There are no rare earth mines currently in production in Canada. The U.S. recently took equity interests in two Canadian critical minerals companies, Lithium Americas and Trilogy Metals.