New CEO Simon Thibault tells Jack Lifton that customer specifications, a practical route into manufacturing and global cost competitiveness must come before mine development.Scandium Canada Ltd. (TSXV: SCD) is entering its next phase with a distinctly industrial strategy: sell advanced aluminum scandium products, establish customer demand and allow that market to pull the company’s Crater Lake scandium project toward production.In a new InvestorNews interview, Critical Minerals Institute Co-Chair Jack Lifton spoke with Simon Thibault, who was appointed President and CEO of Scandium Canada and President of its wholly owned Scalium+ subsidiary effective August 24, 2026.The leadership change concludes a planned succession process. Former CEO Guy Bourassa remains a director and has become Strategic Advisor to Management, supporting the continued advancement of the Crater Lake Project.Thibault credited Bourassa with establishing the company’s foundation and completing the acquisition of Ferreol Technologies, which was subsequently renamed Scalium+. He said the company is now moving at a different speed and requires a management skill set focused on manufacturing, commercialization and industrial supply chains.“What really differentiates us from the others is the fact that we have a business, Scalium+,” Thibault said. “We have customers and clients, and we are producing aluminum scandium alloys for the market right now.”More Than a Mining ProjectScandium Canada’s strategy rests on two connected businesses. Upstream, the company is advancing its Crater Lake primary scandium project in Nunavik, Québec. Downstream, Scalium+ is developing and commercializing aluminum scandium alloys and related technologies for advanced manufacturing.The company acquired Ferreol Technologies in June 2026, bringing together Scandium Canada’s proprietary alloy development work with Ferreol’s Scalium® alloys, commercial team, established production workflow and existing customers.That downstream capability is what separates Scandium Canada from companies whose business models depend entirely on financing, permitting and constructing a mine before reaching the customer.Lifton described Scandium Canada as the most advanced scandium company of its kind in the Western world because it is already operating as a manufacturer and seller of scandium-based materials while continuing to develop a future primary source of supply.“You are actually in business as a manufacturer and seller of scandium-based goods, and at the same time, you are developing a mine,” Lifton said.For Thibault, that sequence is deliberate. His strategy begins with the customer and the finished material rather than with the mineral deposit.“Our business strategy is to start from the product,” he said. “We do not start from a mine and try to push a mine onto the market. We start from the market with a product and create a pull on the mine.”Under that model, Crater Lake ultimately becomes the solution to a supply constraint created by commercial success. Scalium+ can initially source scandium oxide and master alloy from existing suppliers while it establishes markets for its products. As demand expands, the company expects those existing sources will become insufficient, strengthening the commercial case for developing Crater Lake.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/3UfigKIDisclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer