Australia turns to global partners in historic critical minerals strategy

MELBOURNE, June 20 (Reuters) – Australia, one of the world’s largest suppliers of raw minerals, unveiled a landmark strategy on Tuesday outlining how it will work with international investors and partners to build a minerals processing industry critical to the energy transition.

The Labor government’s strategy aims to see Australia as a major producer by 2030 of critical raw and processed minerals that are key to the energy transition, on its way to becoming a renewable superpower.

Supplier of almost half of the world’s lithium, Australia is a major producer of rare earths, cobalt, copper, graphite, manganese and other key minerals for the global energy transition.

Yet those minerals are largely processed in China, including into essential materials in batteries and magnets for products ranging from electric vehicles to missiles. Western nations want to ease control of China after supplies were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic and due to tensions over Taiwan.

“The strategy makes clear that our endowment of natural minerals provides a foot in the door, but we must do more to create jobs in Australia and capitalize on this unique opportunity,” Resources Minister Madeleine King said in a statement.

The Grattan Institute, a think tank, estimates that the critical minerals industry could add more than $400 billion to Australia’s economy by 2050, a larger contribution than the coal industry, Australia’s No. 2 export, in the present.

The government will establish a new international program to attract investment and development partnerships to help local projects link up with emerging markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, India and the European Union.

As part of Australia’s national rebuilding fund, value-added resource projects will have access to A$1 billion and A$3 billion for renewable energy and low emission technologies. It will also allocate a further A$500 million in support of projects that align with its development policies.

He will push to overcome skills shortages in mining, automotive and manufacturing which could include skilled migration as well as investment in the most critical national mineral discovery as 80% of the country is underdeveloped.

SOVEREIGN CAPACITY

Australia will track and monitor foreign investment in critical mineral projects to ensure it does not run counter to the country’s national interests as it builds sovereign capacity for key technologies.

The government is considering policies that would allow

domestic supply of critical Australian minerals for Australian projects, he said, although any future approaches must be tailored to Australia’s needs and the global context.

This comes as international companies secure ownership and supply of Australian minerals, particularly lithium and rare earth elements, meaning Australian processors and manufacturers may find it difficult to access Australian mineral supplies in the future.

Reporting by Melanie Burton; Edited by Chizu Nomiyama

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