The Labor Government has released details of its critical mineral strategy plan if re-elected, outlining investment into the sector would come through two new mechanisms; national offtake agreements and selective stockpiling.
Through national offtake agreements, the government will acquire agreed volumes of the minerals from commercial projects, while the selective stockpiling process involves specific critical minerals deemed necessary for national security.
Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese announced the initial investment includes a $1 billion increase to the existing Critical Minerals Facility which was established in 2021.
The Critical Minerals Facility, managed by Export Finance Australia, provides financing to projects that are aligned with the government’s critical minerals strategy. The facility has been funded with $2 billion to help projects suffering from gaps in private finance to overcome these gaps and get off the ground.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) Chief Executive Warren Pearce says this is a positive step forward and provides a boost for developing the Australian critical minerals industry.
“It will provide support to the private sector and assist international investors and partners with the upfront capital costs of new projects,” Pearce says.
“In the geopolitical context of today, critical minerals are more important than ever. This policy setting will help Australia leverage our position as a major critical minerals player in the global market.”
AMEC says further details of how the reserve will work, how and when it will be implemented, along with what the initial focus will be, requires industry consultation if the Prime Minister is re-elected.
“If done right this could help Australian critical minerals projects secure the financing they need to build new mines,” Pearce adds.
The industry is still waiting for a commitment to the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive (JMEI), created in 2017, which has driven $404 million in new greenfield mineral exploration work.
Pearce notes that the government has not yet announced a plan for the JMEI to continue.
“It’s a no-brainer to invest in exploration, the lifeblood of the resources industry,” he says.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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