Will focus on critical minerals but also map deposits of iron ore and gold.
Australia is stepping up efforts to bolster its position as a global leader in mining with a $373 million (A$566 million) funding boost for resource exploration. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the finance in a speech on Wednesday. Over the coming decade, the government agency Geoscience Australia will focus on mapping new deposits of critical minerals but also search for traditional raw materials like iron ore or gold. The Australian Government has recently unveiled the Future Made in Australia Act, which aims to strengthen domestic manufacturing and promote key industries such as clean energy and critical mineral mining and processing. The now-announced funding will accompany the act to supply the necessary critical minerals such as lithium for batteries or rare earths for electric vehicles or wind turbines.
In his speech, Albanese also addressed the Critical Raw Materials Act, under which the European Union sets a maximum quota of imports per strategic raw material from single countries of 65 percent. “That’s a market open to us,” Albanese said, adding that Australia is a trusted trading partner and could become an alternative to industry leader China, from which the EU currently imports a swath of critical minerals.
More on the CRMA: In our whitepaper, we highlight key provisions and questions that we see as unanswered. The paper is available for download from our partner website here.
Photo: iStock/SeventyFour
