Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King met with key industry and community organisations to explore how to best promote Australia’s critical minerals sector and maximise benefits across the country.
Minister King hosted two roundtables on critical minerals in Perth, where he heard from prominent resource firms, First Nations leaders, and research organisations as part of the discussions on the Australian Government‘s new Critical Minerals Strategy.
According to Minister King, the roundtables explored how governments might help attract investment and support the development of critical minerals projects.
“Critical minerals represent the next great leap in mining, and Australia has an opportunity to add even more value to our world-class mining sector by capturing the benefits of the transition to net zero and by moving into downstream processing,” Minister King said.
Minister King stated that the world would require the Australian resources industry and critical minerals to decarbonise.
“Just like the iron ore revolution of the 1960s and growth of the LNG industry in recent decades, Australia’s prosperity and our jobs of the future will rely on decisions we take now to support the development of our critical minerals industry,” Minister King added.
According to the Minister, there will be no net zero without the resources industry.
Critical minerals are significant elements of low-emissions technologies such as storage batteries, electric vehicle motors, solar panels, and wind turbines.
According to Minister King, the demand for critical minerals is steadily increasing. The International Energy Agency projected that by 2040, the demand for minerals for use in batteries and electric vehicles might increase at least 30 times. By 2040, the demand for lithium may increase by more than 40 times, while that for graphite, cobalt, and nickel may increase by 20 to 25 times.
Minister King stated that the new Critical Minerals Strategy would focus on the Government’s aim to grow the industry and ensure that all Australians capture the benefits.
Representatives from the Minerals Council of Australia, Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources, and resource companies such as Glencore, Rio Tinto, BHP, Iluka, and Lynas were among those who attended the roundtables.
