PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian and US governments have formalised a partnership to develop critical mineral assets, with a project agreement inked by Geoscience Australia and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The signing paved the way for both countries to work more closely on understanding each country’s geological resource potential for critical minerals, including rare earth elements, and developing a pathway to supply arrangements.

Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan on Tuesday said it was the beginning of a strong new partnership which would benefit both nations.

“This is a partnership that will deliver opportunity and security to both nations.

 Growing global demand for critical minerals means there is huge scope for Australia to develop secure and stable supply chains to meet the growing demand for critical minerals in key economies such as the US.

“The US has a need for critical minerals and Australia’s abundant supplies makes us a reliable and secure international supplier of a wide range of those, including rare earth elements.”

Canavan said that the signing followed a wealth of work by the federal government to grow Australia’s potential in the critical minerals market, following the announcement of a critical mineral partnership with the US in early 2018.

“Almost 12 months ago Geoscience Australia and the USGS signed a wide-ranging Letter of Intent to formalise our collaboration on critical minerals.

“Our Critical Minerals Strategy was released earlier this year to coordinate activities across government, promote investment and deliver the necessary infrastructure to bring new critical minerals projects into production.

“And just last month we released our Critical Minerals Supply Chain in the US report, which reinforces the importance of Australia continuing to attract investment in high-value activities such as processing and manufacturing. 

“Our partnership with the US also supports the goals of our National Resources Statement,” Canavan said.

The new agreement focuses on joint critical mineral potential mapping and quantitative mineral assessments, determining geological controls on critical mineral distribution, and developing data analytics capability to understand supply and demand scenarios for developing the critical minerals pipeline.

The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy welcomed the partnership, with CEO Paul Everingham saying it "had the potential to lead to the development of new rare earths mines in Western Australia and further trade between the two countries”.

“It recognises that Australia, the US, and much of the western world, does not have reliable supplies of the key minerals used in the technologies that are likely to shape our world over the coming decades. 

“Given that Australia accounts for more than half of the new rare earths projects in the global pipeline, Western Australia is in the box seat to emerge as a global supplier of choice.”