Here’s some more on WA mining sector hopes from tonight’s...

Here’s some more on WA mining sector hopes from tonight’s budget.
I highlighted the bits that might be relevant to AVL
From The West :

https://thewest.com.au/business/min...with-all-eyes-on-critical-minerals-c-14660106

WA miners sit tight ahead of Tuesday’s Federal Budget with all eyes on critical minerals

Simone GroganThe West Australian
Tue, 14 May 2024 1:20PM


The future of BHP Nickel West rests on a knife-edge. Credit: BHP/TheWest

Miners who have been pushing for Federal Government support to deal with volatile commodity prices, expensive build costs and project delays face an anxious wait to see what levers are pulled in Tuesday night’s Budget.

Companies running, or trying to build new projects in lithium and nickel have in particular felt the brunt of unreliable commodity prices and higher operating costs in trying to supply the critical minerals Australia wants to shore up.
The latest bust in WA’s nickel industry has claimed about 2000 jobs during recent months, and thousands more could be on the chopping block if BHP Nickel West decides to shut up shop.

Lithium has fared slightly better, yet there are still concerns that current funding models to get new projects up, and make sure Australia keeps its place in the critical minerals race, are not working.

There are high hopes among the sector that they will see some kind of support mechanism in tonight’s Budget to back up the Government’s push to keep Australia competitive against its peers, who have deeper pockets — such as the US — or who can pump out product faster and cheaper — such as China and Indonesia.

Resources Minister Madeleine King had called a critical minerals crisis meeting in January to hear what the concerns were from industry and potential solutions.
Some beacons of hope for the sector did emerge, including the potential for shared infrastructure arrangements to help smaller producers who can’t afford their own mass port and rail operations.
One of the big pushes, however, has been for a 10 per cent production tax credit by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies to compete with the likes of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US in upping downstream capabilities in lithium, vanadium and rare earths.

“What we’re hoping for is the production tax credit, the 10 per cent credit for value adding for critical minerals and trying to get ourselves back in the game,” AMEC chief executive Warren Pearce said.
“In Western Australia in particular we were attracting investment, we were getting new value-adding projects set up in lithium. Then once the United States, and pretty much every country in the planet started putting in massive market interventions, we watched that investment go other places . . . It’s such an obvious opportunity for us and we can’t let it slip away.”

A push to recognise Australia’s ESG credentials with a ‘green premium’ has also been gaining some momentum.
Lengthy approval processes are also a huge industry gripe, but there are few mechanisms that could be pulled in the budget to address this aside from more funds for government departments.



cheers