PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said that there was still scope for Australia to provide traditional commodities such as iron-ore and coal to meet global demand, but that the country should also capitalise on the net-zero drive.

Speaking at a Minerals Week event, in Canberra, King vowed that the government would provide the policy certainty necessary for a domestic economy as the world underwent a massive energy transformation.

“This government understands the contribution that traditional resource industries have played and continue to play. We also recognise the world is united in its drive to decarbonise and like the minerals and resources industry we recognise the new opportunities across your sector,” she said.

“To play our part in the global energy transition and seize the economic opportunity therein, Australia must make the most sweeping set of changes to our energy grid the country has ever seen.

“This is no small task. It is a massive challenge, and a massive opportunity, but we, and you, are up to it,” she said.

King noted that renewable energy infrastructure would still require traditional resources such as iron-ore, saying on Wednesday that Australia’s high-quality iron-ore should be a cornerstone of this development, and that demand for its metallurgical coal resources would remain high for "some time".

“We know that as the world decarbonises, we want the Australian resources sector to remain competitive,” the Minister said.

King also noted that critical minerals would be the foundation of most, if not all, of the low emissions technologies being developed to achieve global Paris goals, and that Australia’s metallurgical coal, copper, iron-ore and nickel were also crucial to the wires, batteries, magnets and semiconductors that power clean energy technologies.

“Our challenge is to scale up supply of the minerals the world needs to make these technologies, and that’s where the world-leading experience and expertise of Australia’s resource sector will play a leading role.

“In other words, there can be no clean energy transition without the resources sector of Australia

“We are endowed with an abundance of critical minerals. We produce around half the world’s lithium, are the second-largest producer of cobalt and the fourth-largest producer of rare earths,” King said.

“The government wants to position Australia as a clean energy superpower, and unlocking the full potential of our critical minerals endowments is a core part of that. It can help unlock emissions reductions both in Australia and overseas, and on that basis is among the most valuable contributions we can make to achieve the global Paris goals.

“All this while driving domestic economic growth through regional jobs, building domestic industries and strengthening international partnerships.”