Federal Minister for Resources Madeleine King is playing down the size of stockpiling concerning the government’s proposed $1.2 billion Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve.
King says the stockpiling aspect will not be tantamount to a shed full of piles of critical minerals and rare earths, as these are really low‑volume commodities, but rather a stockpile in a physical sense could amount to “not much more than a boot-full of a car”.
“People are starting to think about it like the old-style wheat stockpile, or the wool, and it’s just not in the same realm whatsoever. So, stockpiles, if we need to have indeed a physical stockpile, will be where they need to be and where it works the best in the national interest,” she says.
“I think the more important part about the reserve is how it works in pricing and price setting, and we saw just this week the Department of Defense in the US announced its really important investment for the Mountain Pass refinery and mine in the US, and they’ve set a price floor which helps stabilise the rare earth price. So, we’re obviously looking at that really closely as well.”
In April 2025, the Australian Government announced it is pursuing, in the name of national interest and boost economic resilience, establishing a reserve via offtake agreements and selective stockpiling.
The reserve will build on extensive Australian Government investment in critical minerals via national offtake agreements. This will be through voluntary contractual arrangements the government will acquire agreed volumes of critical minerals from commercial projects, or establish an option to purchase at a given price, holding security over these assets as part of the strategic reserve.
The second way is selective stockpiling where the government will establish Australian stockpiles of certain key critical minerals produced under offtake agreements as required.
A taskforce is being established to consult and finalise the scope and design of the Strategic Reserve in Government, which is expected to be operational in H2 2026.
The creation of the Strategic Reserve and the expansion of the Critical Minerals Facility is supported by Labor’s $7 billion Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive.
Australia is home to some of the largest critical minerals deposits globally – just about the whole periodic table of elements. The government says it is uniquely placed to meet the needs of increasing global and domestic demand.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Australian Government
