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In an economically turbulent time, the government should embark on an ambitious plan to reap the rewards of a battery production industry.
Labor’s budget contains a $50 million commitment to accelerate Australia’s critical minerals sector. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the lion’s share — $30.5 million — was for a critical minerals research and development hub that would help government agencies support private industry.
In 2013, Geoscience Australia conducted a study which found that Australia is rich in critical minerals that are essential for a high-tech world — for renewable energy transition, for batteries, smartphones, and the manufacturer of semiconductors.
It found that it is rich in antimony, beryllium, bismuth, chromium, cobalt, copper, graphite, helium, indium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare-earth elements, tantalum, thorium, tin, titanium, tungsten and zirconium. Some of these commodities are considered most critical by the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US.
Read more about how Australia could set itself up to own and control strategically important minerals.
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