PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King will hold bilateral talks with ministerial counterparts from Germany, the EU, France and the UK around Australia’s supply of critical minerals.
The Minister will also take part in the inaugural International Energy Agency (IEA) Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit on September 28 in Paris.
“Australia has the critical minerals the world needs to help lower emissions and we have well established export supply chains built over decades through our iron ore and gas industries,” King said on Friday.
“Australia’s resources sector also has high environmental and social governance standards (ESG), and a global reputation as a stable and reliable export partner.
“I released Australia’s new Critical Minerals Strategy in June, which lays out Australia’s support for the industry and our plan to become a globally significant supplier of critical minerals by 2030.”
King said that the visit to Europe and the UK would be a chance to outline how Australia is working with the sector and cooperating with international partners to diversify global supply chains and support investment in the mining and processing of key critical minerals.
“The world’s clean energy transition will ride on the back of Australia’s critical minerals,” she said.
“Critical minerals are crucial components of clean energy technologies such as batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as for wind farms and solar panels.”
Australia is the world’s leading producer of unprocessed lithium, the world’s third largest cobalt exporter and the fourth-largest exporter of rare earths. Australia is also the fourth largest exporter of mined copper and nickel and a significant producer of aluminium.