The New South Wales government is launching consultations for the development of a new Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy, which will help boost domestic manufacturing, skills, and training opportunities available in the state’s local industry.
The strategy is crucial to establishing the framework for the critical minerals and high-tech metals mining industry, providing certainty and direction as the sector continues to grow.
In a media release, the NSW government said ensuring a stable supply of critical minerals and high-tech elements is necessary to translate the state’s natural competitive advantage to economic growth and regional employment. This will also safeguard the clean energy supply chain and sovereign capability.
The consultation to develop the strategy will focus on new opportunities to create more local jobs by encouraging domestic processing and manufacturing of products with significant critical minerals inputs and developing skills and training opportunities in the workforce.
The renewed strategy will also be aimed at further encouraging greenfield critical minerals exploration across the state, including through the release of geological survey data.
The consultation will also explore the economics of the industry and the best ways to leverage the government’s purchasing power to ensure investment growth.
“NSW is uniquely positioned to support global supply of critical minerals with our diverse mix of critical mineral and high-tech metal deposits and capacity to promote domestic processing and manufacturing,” said Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos. “We will establish a clear framework on how the government can support the exploration and mining of critical minerals and high-tech metals in NSW.”
The government will roll out the consultation through a series of meetings with key stakeholders, including mining companies, industry representatives, investors, and workers.
The consultation period will begin next week and will be open to submissions until 17 November.
A stakeholder roundtable will also be held on the sidelines of the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney in October.
“We will consider how boosted skills and training opportunities throughout the state can drive the industry. Critical minerals mining requires a skilled labour force and that means more, high-paying jobs for people in regional NSW,” Minister Houssos said.
More information on the consultation process will be available at meg.resourcesregulator.nsw.gov.au beginning next week.
