PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has welcomed the federal government’s Blueprint and Action Plan for Critical Technologies, saying it would help drive innovation, productivity and economic prosperity as well as creating more highly skilled jobs for Australians.

“Australia has a strong comparative advantage in mining and the supportive policy framework is important to ensure the industry remains strong and competitive,” said MCA CEO Tania Constable.

“There are massive gains still to be made by rapidly embracing technology to improve safety, productivity and to decarbonise.”

The government this week announced it would be investing A$111-million to secure Australia’s quantum future, supporting the commercialisation, adoption and use of this new technology to create jobs, support Australian business and keep Australians safe.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week released the Blueprint and Action Plan for Critical Technologies, setting out a vision for protecting and promoting critical technologies for Australia’s natioanl interest.

Morrison was quoted as saying that the blueprint aimed to balance the economic opportunities of critical technologies with their national security risks, and gave Australia the right framework to work domestically and with like-minded countries to support the further development of these technologies. 

The blueprint established four goals, including having access to critical technologies and secure systems, being recognised as a trusted and secure partner in critical technologies, preserving the integrity of local research and supporting regional resilience and shaping an international environment that allows for an open and competative market, and secure and trusted technology innovation.

“The industry looks forward to working with the government to fully realise the immense benefits from technology opportunities including enhancing research partnerships and improving environmental outcomes,” said Constable.

“Mining is proud to support innovation in our domestic mining equipment, technology and services sector which gives rise to new export opportunities and jobs. 

“Australian mining companies are leading adopters and innovators of many of the critical technologies identified as being in the national interest.

“These include autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, critical minerals extraction and processing, drones, electric batteries and machine learning. The inclusion of nuclear energy and nuclear waste management and recycling is welcomed given the emerging opportunities with small modular reactor technology which can produce cost competitive, zero emission electricity with multiple potential Australian applications.”