The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is investing $75 million in global alternative investment manager Resource Capital Funds (RCF) to support Australia’s critical minerals supply chain and build momentum in the clean energy transition.
This move targets the sustainable production of essential minerals such as lithium and nickel, which are crucial for clean energy technologies. It will also decarbonise mining operations and strengthen Australia’s global competitiveness.
RCF’s flagship private equity fund is poised to bring much-needed capital to Australian mining projects, generating ambitious decarbonisation goals in the ‘hard-to-abate’ mining sector.
The majority of the CEFC investment will be deployed towards decarbonisation within Australian mining operations. An option to invest a minority portion in aligned mining operations around the world has the potential to reduce global emissions in this critical sector.
CEFC director Jacqueline Lane says the world urgently needs a strong supply of critical minerals to power the clean energy transition.
“From the lithium and nickel for batteries to the copper for transmission, we must secure these minerals quickly and sustainably. RCF is a highly experienced mining investment house. Our work with them will enhance environmental standards and reinforce the competitive advantage of Australian minerals in the global market with the potential to further develop onshore downstream processing infrastructure with financial discipline,” Lane says.
“Just as Australia had an abundance of the resources that delivered growth and prosperity in the 20th century, we have a comparatively large share of the critical minerals that will power the low emissions economies of the future.
“Through positioning as a low-emission and high-ESG industry, Australian mining can benefit from the once-in-a-generation demand shift to the minerals required to accelerate world efforts to decarbonise. By meeting demand for these resources, the mining sector can help Australia and the world achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while continuing to create jobs and opportunities around the country.”
Jacqui Murray, Partner and Head of Fund at RCF, says the world is undergoing a paradigm shift in the demand for metals and minerals, and there is a need to advance decarbonisation through investments in emerging critical minerals projects.
With access to more than $30 billion from the Australian Government, the CEFC works with co-investors, industry, and the government to drive economy-wide investment in decarbonisation. It is a specialist investor in Australia’s transition to net-zero emissions by 2050.
RCF operates in the mining-focused alternative investment space partnering with companies to build strong, successful, innovative, and sustainable businesses that strive to produce superior returns to all stakeholders.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: CEFC
