PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan on Friday said that he would use high-level talks in the US over the coming week to promote Australia as an emerging producer of critical minerals and a reliable global supplier of resources and energy.
Canavan is travelling to the US for talks with senior members of the US government and to meet executives of major mining, manufacturing and resources companies.
He will meet Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and US Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt to promote Australia’s emerging critical minerals sector and to push for international cooperation to help boost the global trade and diversified supply of critical minerals.
“Critical minerals and rare earths are crucial to the high-technology industries of the future and are essential components of batteries, wind turbines, LCD screens, solar panels, microchips and even mobile phones,” Canavan said.
“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.
“Mining and resources have underpinned Australia’s economic growth and prosperity for more than 100 years, and the critical minerals sector provides an exciting opportunity to build on that foundation as a safe and reliable supplier to the world.”
The visit builds on the September agreement between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Donald Trump to develop a US-Australia Action Plan for Critical Minerals Cooperation to support investment, research and development, and diversity in critical minerals supply chains.
Australia is one of the top five producers of critical minerals such as antimony, manganese, rare earths, and ilmenite and rutile – two titanium minerals – and is the second largest producer of rare earths, with 13% of global production.
Australia is also the world's largest producer of lithium, accounting for 47% of global production, and has the world’s largest nickel reserves and second largest cobalt reserves, as well as abundant reserves of graphite.