IXR Clean energy opportunities The road to net zero runs through...

IXR



Clean energy opportunities

The road to net zero runs through the resources sector.

Without the critical minerals - without the iron ore - without the copper - without the gas to process all these materials, there is no net zero.

The World Bank estimates over 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be required in order to produce the renewable technologies necessary for the global net zero transition.

The clean energy transition is expected to drive an exponential growth in demand for critical minerals and key minerals in pursuit of a net zero goal.

Australia and African countries can both benefit from the global trend of supporting a low-carbon and resource-efficient sector to meet our climate and environmental objectives, while being socially inclusive.

Australia is currently the largest producer of lithium, with Western Australia alone accounting for 50 per cent of global lithium extraction. Australia is also the world’s largest bauxite producer and the second largest producer of alumina.

Much like Australia, African nations are abundant in the natural resources required to produce critical, clean energy technologies.
Fifty per cent of global cobalt reserves are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 30 per cent of manganese in South Africa, over 12 per cent of the world’s graphite is found in Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania.

This presents great opportunities for us to work together across international borders.

It’s already happening.

An example, because I know they’re represented at this conference, is Australian company Ionic Rare Earths.
Ionic Rare Earths operates in Uganda and develops rare earths from ionic clay projects.

The company is focused on developing its flagship Makuutu Rare Earths project to become a significant supplier of critical and heavy rare earths to support the global green energy transition.

The Australian Government wants Australia to be a renewable energy superpower, and a major exporter of clean energy and products.

This will add more value to our commodity exports and grow our domestic manufacturing sector.

We are ready to capture the opportunities the transition presents for clean energy commodities like copper, nickel, and lithium.
We also boast significant reserves of the critical minerals, energy transition minerals and resources more broadly that are used to manufacture products such as electric vehicles, mobile phones, and renewable energy systems.

International demand for Australia’s lithium, rare earths, manganese, cobalt, and the other minerals crucial for clean energy technologies, remains strong.

To be competitive in this global environment and to successfully capture downstream processing opportunities – we need to do more.