In recent years, more and more countries have increased their attention and control over key minerals, and Australia, a major mining country, is no exception. On June 20th, the Australian government released the "Key Mineral Strategy 2023-2030", proposing that the country should seize the opportunity of clean energy transformation and strengthen its layout in the middle and lower reaches of the key mineral industry chain.
New Key Mineral Strategy Released
The Australian government issued a draft for soliciting opinions on this strategy as early as the end of last year, spending several months extensively soliciting opinions from various stakeholders. The final released strategy clarifies the priorities for developing key mineral industries and clarifies how the Australian government will collaborate with communities, industries, investors, research and innovation departments, local governments, and international partners to become a national framework for Australia's development of key mineral industries and the realization of the government's vision.
In the document, the Australian government's vision for 2030 is to expand the Geostrategy and economic footprint of its key mineral industries by becoming an important global producer of key mineral raw materials and processed products. These minerals form a support for a diversified, resilient and sustainable global supply chain. The industries and technologies supported by these minerals are critical to the global transition to net zero emissions, Australia's domestic and regional energy security, and Australia's national defense and Economic security.
The Australian government's goals include creating diverse, resilient, and sustainable supply chains through strong and secure international partnerships; Building sovereign capabilities in key mineral processing areas; Make use of its key mineral resources to make Australia a Hyperpower in the field of renewable energy; More value extracted from key mineral resources will be retained within Australia to create more employment and economic opportunities.
Abundant resource endowment
The biggest advantage of Australia's key mineral industry is its unique resource endowment. Australia has the world's largest recoverable resources in key minerals such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, rare earth elements, tungsten, and vanadium. Meanwhile, up to 80% of the Australian continent remains unexplored, with great potential for discovering new mineral deposits. Moreover, Australia possesses world leading professional scientific knowledge, particularly in exploration technology and public geological data, and has a record as a reliable energy and resource producer and exporter.
Among these three advantages, the most crucial one is resource endowment. Australian Minister of Resources Madeline King stated that Australia is the world's largest lithium producer, the third largest cobalt producer, and the fourth largest rare earth producer. Key mineral industries can bring significant benefits to Australia. For the various technologies driving energy transformation, key minerals and other energy transformation metals produced extensively in Australia are essential. Therefore, relying solely on geological resources, Australia should play a crucial role in energy transformation.
The new key mineral strategy also regards energy transformation as a strategic opportunity that the Australian government should seize. The International Energy Agency pointed out in the World Energy Outlook 2022 that the demand of clean energy technology for key minerals will rise sharply, and will more than double the current level by 2030. Among them, the growth in demand for silicon and silver used for solar photovoltaic power generation, rare earth elements used for wind turbine motors, and lithium used for batteries will be particularly prominent.