TORONTO, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Western nations should make

ambitious investments in critical minerals to close the gap with

China, which remains aggressive in consolidating its dominance

in this space, Jonathan Price, CEO of Canadian miner Teck

Resources ( TECK ) said on Thursday in Ottawa.

Critical minerals are a bunch of metals used in a wide range

of applications such as electric vehicles, defence and power

generation.

"But so far, the most ambitious investments to help close

that critical minerals gap are not coming from western nations,"

Price said. He noted that in Canada, the government has

committed $4 billion over eight years to support critical

mineral development, compared to $20 billion that China invested

in mining and metals in 2023 to expand its critical minerals

access abroad.