The deal with the government of Canada was in the form of a memorandum of understanding aimed at exploring deeper cooperation across the automotive value chain, from technical development, the extraction of raw materials, production, service life, and recycling.

"Canada is committed to building a strong and reliable automotive and battery supply chain here in North America to help the world meet global climate goals," Canada's minister of innovation, science and industry Francois-Philippe Champagne said.

Mercedes-Benz flagged the expected increase in demand for responsibly sourced raw materials, such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, manganese, and copper.

The moves by the German car manufacturer includes a planned strategic partnership with Rock Tech which would see the latter deliver up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year beginning in 2026.

"Additionally, Rock Tech intends to operate its own mine in Georgia Lake, Canada, to contribute to wider and growing lithium demand in the northern hemisphere," Rock Tech said.

Canada also this week signed a similar MoU with Volkswagen.

Rock Tech had a share price of C$3.63 (US$2.81) on 24 August and a market capitalisation of C$265.91 million.