Australia’s resources of critical minerals like antimony, cobalt, lithium, manganese ore, niobium, tungsten, and vanadium, rank in the top five globally, while the country is the world’s top producer of lithium and rutile, and the second largest producer of zircon and rare earth elements.
For this reason, the nation is attracting more and more interest from around the world as a main supplier of key metals for the global energy transition.
This was recently highlighted when Australia was invited to participate in an international partnership that seeks to develop and secure global supply chains for critical minerals that are crucial to clean energy technology and the global transition to clean energy.
The nation has joined with the U.S., Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the UK, and the European Commission in the global Minerals Security Partnership.
The U.S. has taken a strong lead on the new partnership, which will help member countries build links with key markets in our region and globally and help embed Australia in international critical mineral supply chains and technologies crucial to the global economy,” Australia’s minister for trade and tourism, Don Farrell, told media recently.
“The partnership seeks to catalyze public and private investment for mining, processing and recycling projects that adhere to the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.”
Australia’s minister for resources and Northern Australia, Madeleine King, recently held a bilateral meeting with U.S. secretary of energy Jennifer Granholm to discuss the importance of critical minerals for the transition to clean energy and the manufacture of new battery, solar, and electric vehicle technologies, and how to improve cooperation on critical minerals.
“My discussions with Secretary Granholm were extremely positive and underlined how Australia and the U.S. can work together to further the development of critical minerals and to diversify global supply chains,” Minister King said.
“We agree that ongoing and secure supplies of critical minerals will be crucial to the modern renewable technologies that will ultimately help our two countries, and the world, achieve our net-zero ambitions.”
Secretary Granholm said that as the building blocks of clean energy technologies, critical minerals are an integral part to the U.S. and Australia’s shared climate objectives and bolstering the diversity of and elevating responsible standards for their associated supply chains is an area ripe for enhanced bilateral cooperation.
“I’m so pleased with the productive conversations I’ve had with Minister King and Australian industry on how to leverage our strengths and resources,” said Secretary Granholm.
The U.S. government has already committed to help fund Australian critical minerals projects through its export financing arms against a backdrop of continued Russian sanctions and China’s supply chain dominance.
Critical minerals such as nickel and zinc – which are central to energy, defence, electronics, and other vital industries – have now come under the microscope as the Biden Administration tries to reduce its dependence on overseas supplies.
Australian trade minister Dan Tehan said the U.S. had agreed to help finance Australian projects to speed up delivering much-needed critical minerals for the technology that goes into defence equipment, batteries, smartphones, electric vehicles, and other technologies.
“As China produces almost 80% of global critical minerals, Western nations, including Australia and the U.S., are scrambling to develop alternative supplies,” he said.
“The coming energy transition will depend in large part on securing a resilient and diversified supply of critical minerals for use in everything from electric vehicle chargers and batteries to solar panels, wind turbines, and semiconductors.”
With Asia seen as one of the most competitive markets for new critical minerals sources it is no surprise that government and business delegations from countries such as South Korea and Japan have rushed to Australia to sign up agreements.
Indian partnership
India is the latest country to reach out to Australia to position itself in the forefront of future critical minerals opportunities. A ministerial level delegation from India recently travelled “down under” in what is seen as a major step in the Australia–India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
Earlier this year the Australian government allocated A$5.8M to the partnership, which aims to support Indian investment in Australian critical minerals projects and grow the sector.
The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office arranged the visit to give delegates the opportunity to build relationships and engage with Australia’s critical minerals operating environment.
The delegation included India’s minister for parliamentary affairs, coal and mines, the Honourable Shri Pralhad Joshi, and four other senior Indian government representatives.
The delegates met with Australian counterparts from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and AusTrade and engaged with state government agencies and critical mineral companies in Perth, Bunbury, and Sydney. This included site tours of:
- Tianqi Lithium Kwinana processing facility
- Greenbushes Lithium Mine
- CSIRO Australian Resources Research Centre
- Western Australian Geological Survey Core Library
- Stabilizing markets
Global management consultancy, Partners in Performance, believes Australia must play a key role in stabilizing the global markets and supply chain for these critical minerals.
“Australia can attest to sourcing for minerals in environmentally and socially responsible ways with its strong and efficient regulatory environment. Workers involved in the sector are also protected. This sets Australia apart from its competitors that may operate at a lower cost, but at the expense of the environment or its workforce,” Michael Huggins, director and head of Australia and New Zealand at Partners in Performance, says.
“The government reiterates this by working closely with states and territories in developing a national ethical certification scheme for critical minerals. Mr Huggins said the Australian government’s 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy will set the stage for Australia to develop a thriving and durable Australian critical minerals sector through a lens of sustainability, to meet global market demand. As part of this initiative, the mining sector must look at the application of clean technologies while adhering to ESG standards.
“As Australia positions itself in becoming the critical minerals powerhouse supporting clean energy technologies, the growth and expansion of downstream processing is expected to be phenomenal with the creation of about 52,000 jobs in regional areas,” he said.
“Apart from boosting the economy, it will breed a new generation of high-skill, high-tech jobs.”
Mr Huggins said the government clearly recognizes the potential that Australia holds in the critical minerals mining sector. However, more investment, especially from smaller and mid-tier mining and exploration companies to increase production and meet global supply chain demands, will help Australia lead the way in critical minerals supply by 2030. The A$2B that has been set aside for this will give small and medium-sized mining companies access to increasing domestic production.
“Incentivizing programmes and encouraging mining companies to install or repurpose existing equipment or facilities to produce critical minerals, and, increasing the budget for research and development in the sector, would enhance Australia’s role in stabilizing the critical mineral supply chain market,” said Mr Huggins.
“These factors, riding on the backbone of Australia’s reputation for environmentally and socially responsible governance, would propel Australia into being at the forefront of the critical minerals mining sector.
