On 20 June, the Australian government came out with their Critical Minerals Strategy for 2023 to 2030. The document sets out the government’s vision to grow Australia’s critical minerals sector. Its objectives are to:
create diverse, resilient and sustainable supply chains through strong and secure international partnerships
build sovereign capability in critical minerals processing
use our critical minerals to help Australia become a renewable energy superpower
extract more value from Australia's resources onshore, which creates jobs and economic opportunities, including for regional and First Nations communities
The strategy sets out priorities across 6 focus areas for cooperation: communities, industry, investors, R&I, states and territories and international partners.
Among the actions set out in the strategy, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will support the growth allocating $500 million to support projects that align with this strategy. Moreover, the government will establish a National Reconstruction Fund, which includes $1 billion for value-add in resources and $3 billion for renewables and low emissions technologies.
Australia will also review the licensing and commercialisation settings for federally funded research relevant to the critical minerals sector to ensure it provides domestic benefit aligned with the strategy’s vision.
Other actions include leveraging R&I programs and analysing the the type, volume and timing of mineral requirements for Australia’s processing and manufacturing sector.
Regarding strategic partnerships, the strategy states that the government is investing $57.1 million to secure strategic and commercial partnerships to develop new, diverse and resilient supply chains underpinned by critical minerals processed in Australia. Under this initiative, the $40 million Critical Minerals International Partnerships program will support co-investment between Australia and like-minded international partners and critical minerals projects that can help develop end-to-end critical minerals supply chains.
In addition to the program, the Government is also investing $6.65 million to increase global critical minerals engagement and $6.7 million to help Austrade boost international engagement on critical minerals.
The Critical Minerals Strategy in 2026 will be reviewed in 2026 and progress towards the objectives of the strategy will be part of the the Department of Industry, Science and Resources' annual report.
To read the strategy, please click here.