A new strategy has been launched that aims to turn Australia into a world powerhouse in critical minerals for the future of agritech, renewable energy, aerospace, and telecommunications.
The Federal Government has released the Critical Minerals Strategy 2019, which outlines how Australia can become a world leader in exploration, extraction, production and processing of critical minerals.
It targets “the three I’s” – investment, innovation and infrastructure – to remove barriers for the sector.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said there were significant economic opportunities for Australia as global demand for critical minerals grew.
“Investing in critical minerals supports the nation’s economy and will create more jobs for Australians by growing our resources sector,” Canavan said.
Related stories:
- Critical minerals could add $9.4B to Australian economy
- Rio Tinto’s $2.6B Amrun bauxite mine opens
- MRC Graphite awards engineering contract on WA operation
“Australia has abundant critical minerals, a world-class resources sector and a strongly supportive government – essential to positioning ourselves as a reliable and secure international supplier of many critical minerals.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said Australia was uniquely placed to capture the value on offer through rising global demand for critical minerals.
“We have some of the world’s richest stocks of critical minerals and while the market for some of our minerals such as lithium is relatively mature, other minerals markets such as cobalt remain largely underdeveloped in Australia,” Birmingham said.
“We’ve got the stocks, we have the potential and now we need to develop the downstream and high-value activities right here in Australia such as processing and manufacturing.
“Our next challenge is about attracting and locking-in domestic and overseas investment needed to actually get projects off the ground that will take our sector to the next level,” he said.
An Australian Critical Minerals Investment Prospectus compiled by Austrade and Geoscience Australia will be published on the Austrade website and provide detailed technical, commercial and geological data on 24 critical minerals identified in the strategy.