IMARC 2023: Australia poised to take global lead in critical minerals

The announcement by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to double the investment in the Critical Minerals Fund sets the scene for this year’s International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney next week.

The AU$4 billion plan is aimed at expanding the production and processing of critical minerals in Australia to secure the country’s position as a global critical minerals powerhouse.

Mr Albanese said Australia is in a strong position to help the global shift to net-zero due to its large deposits of critical minerals.

“Australia is committed to building sustainable and secure critical minerals supply chains with the US. This is central to building a clean energy future and delivering economic growth. The expansion of the Critical Minerals Facility will help to build supply chains with the United States and support our shared clean energy, manufacturing, and defence ambitions,” Mr Albanese commented.

Minister for Resources of Australia, Madeleine King, said the road to net-zero runs through Australia’s resources sector.

“The Critical Minerals Facility is a cornerstone of support, providing finance to strategically significant projects which can crowd in private investment,” Ms King added.

“Coupled with our support for processing, we are well positioned to be a world leading provider of critical minerals, including rare earths elements, and to support global efforts on clean energy transformation.”

Australia is fortunate to be home to some of the largest recoverable critical mineral deposits on Earth, with abundant reserves of rare minerals including lithium, graphite, cobalt, and nickel.

However, unlike iron ore and coal, these critical minerals are also found in many other countries, meaning Australia's traditional competitive advantage no longer comes so easily.

As the world scrambles to secure these resources of the future, this new competitive landscape has spurred an effort to unlock Australia’s potential as a critical mineral powerhouse given its large reserves of rare earth minerals.

Critical minerals are integral to the global clean energy economy and are key components for products such as solar panels, batteries, medical equipment, and telecommunications technology. Thankfully, Australia is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for responsibly produced minerals.

Roland Hill from FYI Resources, a leader in producing high critical minerals for the electric vehicle and high-tech appliance industry, noted that despite Australia’s leading position in the critical mineral market, there remains a lot of catching up to do to meet global demand pressures.

“Australia is probably punching above its weight in terms of supply and is therefore boasting some of the largest production of lithium. However, much like the rest of the world, Australia has been caught short a little in terms of the preparedness to address the shortfall in critical minerals supply. We still have a long way to go before we can say we are global leaders in critical minerals, in the same we do for traditional resources,” Mr Hill explained.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/27102023/imarc-2023-australia-poised-to-take-global-lead-in-critical-minerals/