[MEDIA] A delegation of Australian critical minerals companies...

A delegation of Australian critical minerals companies visiting Tokyo this week said they were optimistic about Japan’s ability to replicate the huge investments it has made in Australian gas and iron ore over the decades, but they also warned it was pointless trying to compete with China.

Andrew Tong, executive manager of Cobalt Blue, said it was crunch time for the industry to meet the huge demand for critical minerals at a time when geopolitical changes were also influencing the market. He said Japan’s big trading houses were playing a critical role in investing in Australia.

“The benefit for Australia is we have all the raw materials, and the question is how far downstream do we go, and what partners do we bring in to do that. Our expertise is [in] digging it up and processing it to a certain point in the chain. Can we transition from the raw materials into a manufactured good?” Dr Tong said.

He also said the push to break China’s dominance of the industry meant governments should look at developing a two-tier pricing market that would separate low-cost product from materials delivered under stricter certification requirements.

Cheers

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